Horton Hears a Who : Music Notes
by xHikariAngel777
Summary: -One year after the movie- Ned decides to adopt a seriously sick little Who girl, Melody, thinking he's doing the right thing. But is adopting this girl really worth all this trouble? How will it affect his family, including Jojo...? -Horton Hears a Who-
1. Chapter 1

Alright. xD This is the first story I've putten up on this website before - and it's a Horton Hears a Who fic. XD Yeahs 8D Lawls... Also, don't be fooled by the description, you Jojo-fans - this story will feature plenty of him, dontcha worry. 8D He's VERY important to the plot x3 Anywho... I really hope you enjoy! 8D I had a fun time writing this x3

**--**

In the Who Orphanage, where the light would not shine  
And all the Who children would look at the time  
Look at the time and wonder when -  
Wonder when their parents would ever, ever come for them.  
They were told that they might  
Oh, they might; Oh, they might  
But this was not certain  
and this thought made the little Whos shut the curtain  
The chance that a parent might actually come  
Was 91 trillion and 700 to one.  
Still, the children all played,  
Frolicking and skipping to the end of the day.  
At least most of them did, except one that did not.

This one that did not, oh, she wasn't quite right  
She was different from the others, and rather uptight.  
She'd sit in her corner, not saying a word.  
Not even a mutter - how she must've been bored.  
She was just nearly thirteen,  
But, for her age, she was, well… rather lean.  
No one recalled ever seeing her eat  
Perhaps she didn't want something green in teeth?

Green things aside, she'd still sit in her corner  
That one little corner, where she'd sit and not murmur.  
She'd sit not just quiet, but with a dull sort of pride.  
Sitting, sitting, quietly deprived.  
Under the dirt that mangled her fur,  
Was a creamy complexion, once clear and quite pure.  
Now it was crusted and dirtied and mangy,  
under her long pink colored hair, that was once so very curly.  
Oh, her hair; Oh her hair – it had once been quite pretty  
Now, just a definition under the words 'poor, tangled, and petty'.

Still, here she sat, in her one little corner  
Not minding that her body looked like someone savagely torn her.  
Not minding that her beauty was gone  
nor that the fact that her voice was practically in bonds.  
Still, it was in this little fact, there was the irony  
Despite that she never once spoke, nor carried a note  
Or even sang one musical key  
Her name was written, quite clearly, as 'Melody'.

000

"'T-H', Heady. 'T-H'," Ned spoke, with a gentle laugh as he lifted his youngest Who daughter into his arms, to kiss the tip of her nose.

Heady merely grinned and pointed to another new tooth that had made an appearance in her mouth, "Toof!"

"Just keep at it. You'll get it eventually," Ned laughed a bit, as he now set her back into her seat. The clock rung now, announcing that the twelve seconds had ended. This, in fact, had been the final seconds for the morning. As Heady was sent off back to her breakfast, Ned had lifted himself from the table, just as he kissed his wife along the cheek, "Alright, I'm off!"

"Er – Ned, I think we're missing someone," Sally pointed out, in a matter-of-factly tone.

Ned blinked, "Who did we miss?"

Sally pointed to the empty chair that now swung around the edge of the table, "Your only son."

Ned glanced to it, raising an eyebrow. He approached the chair and turned it around, and glanced around it, as if missing something, "Jojo? You there?"

"Over here."

Ned looked to the source of the small voice, and a goofy grin spread wide along his face from cheek to cheek, "Ah, Jojo! Morning – What's happenin?"

The small Who looked up to his father, and for a moment, there seemed to be a shadow of a smile on his lips. Ever since the 'spec' incident and the realization of their world, as well as the revealing of Jojo's love for music, Ned had practically dropped the entire 'Mayor thing' all together. Still, this didn't stop him from trying to relate to his son. Since it no longer involved speeches beginning with 'one day, when you're mayor', Jojo was perfectly fine with it. Now it only seemed to be amusing to him in the smallest of ways at how hard Ned tried.

Jojo motioned toward the exit of the kitchen, as a piece of toast was held in his mouth. In one word, after he took a bite of toast, he muttered, "Observatory."

Ned blinked. Then understood, and nodded with a grin. He did some sort of wacky salute, "Oh. Alright, Jo! So you don't want to come to work with me then and see how your old man does his job?"

He wrung his hands around his tie, in a proud tone, but Jojo simply shook his head and darted toward the door. Ned shrugged, and there was a faint smile that had graced its presence on his lips, "Worth a shot."

As Sally had watched this little scene, she had smiled herself. She was proud of her husband and how he had managed to let go of the issue of their son being mayor. At first, it had taken a bit for the shock to sink in, but now, communication between Ned and Jojo was becoming easier each day. She stood from the table, picking up her empty plate, "You should get going too."

Ned's eyes widened upon this and glanced to the clock that hung on the opposite wall, "Oh, right!" he clumsily gathered himself together and began toward the doorway, "Got a meeting with the city counsel, help plan the Whoville faire this weekend, sign and file some who-docs, and visit the Who Orphanage and talk to the kids, there – big, big day!" he laughed now, as he straightened himself up a bit and continued to the door, "Bye, honey! Bye, kids!"

All at once, a chorus of voices came up to respond to Ned.

"Bye-bye, Daddy!"  
"Love you!"  
"Ta, Dad!"

And so on and so forth.

With a wave, Ned hurried out the door to begin his daily assignments as mayor.

000

Melody sat in her one corner, staring at the other children here at the Who Orphanage. The other's frolicked about without a care, talking and speaking as if they were like any other Who. Not Melody. She sat alone in the corner of the room, watching with her wide white eyes. Yes, white – because of this strange color, most thought she was blind. Well, they weren't far from the truth. On her last visit to the doctor, she was diagnosed with progressive blindness. Over a slow period of time, she would eventually lose all sight and vision in her eyes. To this news, she held no reaction, but only kept her mouth shut as she always would. It was no different from the news she heard from the appointment before that, and the one before.

This young little Who had been diagnosed with a number of diseases that would issue her death in no more then ten years. Still, Melody would not speak or show any sign of caring. She had heard it all before, and she could easily name off each disease that she held in her head: leukemia, tuberculosis, severe insomnia, and a tumor positioned in her throat.

Starting from beginning to end, the leukemia was mild, but still present. She knew very well that she held a few of its symptoms. It explained the infrequent jerks of pain in her joints, the headaches, and tendency to bleed or bruise easily. As for tuberculosis, it was a tad more noticeable. She frequently coughed up blood, and held common fevers. It too explained why she never quite held an appetite, as well. The most severe diagnosis, however, was her insomnia. It had become to the point where she practically could not sleep at all. Whenever night would come along, Melody could always be found wandering around the orphanage in an attempt to occupy herself. It was the last one that did not seem to affect her either way. Despite the fact the tumor was present in her throat; her voice would not be affected, unless it was used. With each use, she was told; her voice would eventually be gone all together. It was either that, or surgery. However, the orphanage would not cover the payment, and so she was trapped.

Melody was trapped in this silent world of hers, slowing dieing away.

"Did you hear?" spoke one little Who boy.

Lifting her head, Melody had glanced to the direction of the boy. With her vision, he merely looked like a blurry blob, but somehow, she was able to make out a tone of creamy blue fur, and a mop of navy hair atop his head. Rather then his looks, though, she more focused on his voice. From the tone of it, it sounded like Dash, one of the younger Whos that lived here.

"You mean about the Mayor?" spoke another; this one, female. Melody squinted her eyes in order to see the blurs of pink fur; Lola, "Yeah. I know. He's coming to visit us, isn't he?"

There was a pause, and Melody imagined that Dash had nodded, "Yup. The one that helped save us! One of the greats!"

That line was used more and more often as of late. One of the Greats… Since their world had been saved from boiling in a pot of muck, that's what the Mayor had been referred to; not just 'the mayor' anymore. Melody had recalled how he once been referred to as a babbling idiot and a boob. Now it was as if those names never existed. He and his son were the new big things that Whoville had to offer, and they never failed to make their way into conversation here at the Who Orphanage. Now, that the Mayor was visiting, however, they jumped frequently into practically every other sentence. This was sheer proof of it.

Lola had nodded, her head bobbing up and down in an amused grin, "Yeah!" she then pouted a bit, "But I wanted to meet his son, Jojo."

Dash had laughed and poked Lola's forehead, "Not like you'd have a chance with him."

Melody assumed there was a scowl on Lola's face, due to her blurred posture and tone of voice, "Would too!" she then shoved Dash's hand away, "I mean, what's not to like?"

Dash had rolled his eyes (at least that's what Melody pictured) at the arrogance in Lola's voice, "Iunno; maybe starting with that mangy hair of yours."

Lola had shoved Dash as she heard this, "I'll have you know that everyone _loves _my hair! It's one of my best qualities!"

"Oh, yes – right after that mole on your neck," Dash had smirked and now pointed to a place just under chin.

Instantly, Lola had begun to panic and attempted to spot where Dash referred to, "Wha – what?!_ Mole? _Where, _where?"_

"Psych," grinned Dash, as he now flicked her nose.

Lola blushed and glowered fiercely to the boy, "Hey!" and she pounced at him.

It was at this point that, Melody had turned away. She had lost interest once Dash and Lola's love spat had began. She knew what would happen, and so it did. An older woman with orange fur and her ashy gray furred husband had come to pull the two apart. One was sent to a corner in one of the side of the room, and the other to the opposite side. These two Whos, the orange and the gray, were the ones who owned the orphanage, Mr. and Mrs. Mel-deli, though, most just found it easier to just call them the Delis. Overall, Melody believed them as nice people by the tone of their voices, even if they were strict on their rules.

One of them, Mr. Deli had caught sight of Melody, still sitting silently alone against the wall. He approached her in the same dreary way; unlike his wife, he was not as passionate over the caring of the orphans. He leaned down to Melody and spoke, in a firm tone, "Melody, its time for your visit with the doctor, today."

_The doctor_, Melody thought. She watched Mr. Deli with wide eyes; eyes that were trying to see but could not. _The doctor_, Melody thought again, the same assessment; just the usual checkup. This checkup of hers occurred each week, always on a Saturday, and always at ten o'clock AM. The same schedule had been etched into Melody's mind, due to the repetitive nature of it all. Always at Saturday… always at ten. _Just the same, just the same, _Melody thought. He'd take her wrist and check her pulse, to see if it was any different; it never was. Then he'd go over the same routine, and give her the same shots to ease her illnesses; note that it was to ease, not stop.

Despite this, she still found herself standing to Mr. Deli's request, and she began to wander out the large room where all the other children spent their day. Mr. Deli did not follow her, he knew her well enough to know she would not wander off her daily trek.

Ten years.

That's how long she had been here. Ten years of doing the same routine each day. She was thirteen now, but even as a baby she still crawled down the same path. Her footsteps had practically been engraved into the ground, or at least they should've been.

With this thought, Melody had sighed, her only sign that she was still living; that she was still alive mentally, even if her white eyes were not. She had to skim her hands along the walls in order to keep track of where she was going. She was not just blind yet, but her vision was still dreadfully blurry. It was never a surprise if the other Whos here caught her tripping or bumping into things, and so they would usually continue on with fake-ignorance. It was a rare day when they stopped to help up a fallen Melody. Still, this wouldn't stop the poor Who. She continued on with daily commute, as if she were any ordinary Who (one that was extraordinarily quiet and spacey).

She reached the Doctor's office, and felt for the familiar golden doorknob, then opened it. The oak of the door made a swift squeaking sound, as it always would, welcoming her to the interior of the room. Melody poked her head in, and she had walked in like a lost child. No, she was not lost, but her posture and stance spoke otherwise. The way she wobbled on her legs, and how she felt the gentle feel of the crisp white wall around her. As she came to the seat in the center of the room, she felt for the arms of the chair. Carefully, she had began to crawl upon it, when the familiar voice of the doctor boomed into the room.

"HEEEY, MEL!"

The sheer jolt and surprise of the voice had caused her to tumble backwards, or at least begin to, until the welcoming arms of the doctor had caught her. They were warm, she recalled. For as long as she had known him, they had been warm, almost hot at some points, as though he were running a fever. Melody glanced up to him, as he awkwardly stood her back on her own two feet. He was the same as she remembered; his soft creamy fur and the golden hair that was atop his head that reached and touched his chin. His name was Dr. Kazoo Who, and Melody had inferred that he was a rather decent man. He was young, probably not even thirty yet, but he had still managed to take care of her since she came to this orphanage ten years ago.

Melody didn't speak, but merely nodded vaguely, as she scrambled into her seat before she had the chance to fall again.

"Right on time as always, I see!" Dr. Kazoo spoke, gleefully, his face beaming as he now grabbed his cold stethoscope, and cleaned it for a moment, then set it back down, disregarding it. He then focused back on Melody, "That's always good."

Melody had nodded again; this was usually their forms of communication. He would speak, and she would either nod, shrug, or shake her head.

"So, let's begin," said Kazoo, and his eyes were wide and a pale blue; they were light in color, but they shown more vividly then any ordinary color. He loomed over her now and had taken her wrist to measure her pulse. It had only been a second or so, but he had already released her to jot down the rate of her heartbeat. Even if he did say what it was, Melody neither heard nor listened. She knew it was the same as the last time.

Kazoo roamed over to the counter positioned in the small office. He flipped through the small needles and cotton swabs, until he found a particularly small needle. It was of the same form he normally used when giving Melody her needed shots. Melody did not watch, but she was able to listen to the gentle 'clings' and 'clangs' that were emitted as the metal of the needle and the glass of the jars had collided lightly. He attached the tiny needle to the sufficient device, and wandered back to Melody. Melody did not watch. She never did. Instead, her eyes were lied upon the same spot on the white wall ahead. The crisp white wall that stared back at her, but Melody did not entirely watch it. She did, but she did not. Perhaps her eyes were seeing, but her mind did not comprehend.

"Here it comes."

Then Melody grimaced, and bit her lip. She bit her lip just as she had done last week and the week before that. Kazoo lifted his head and smiled, pressing a swab over the small piercing placed on her shoulder. It was the same spot as always too. He never did anything to change. It was always the same routine. Perhaps that's why Melody enjoyed Kazoo's company so much. Like her, he was unchanging. Some would say that that was not necessarily a good thing. Yet, Melody saw otherwise. In her blurry white eyes, she saw that most of the children did not wish to grow up, and Mr. and Mrs. Deli did not wish for them to grow up and to leave their grasps. They did not want them to change, but merely stay the same as if they were frozen in time, unchanging.

"Allrighty! Aall finished!" Kazoo responded in a sing-song tone, as he placed a band aid on her fur. She always hated those. They needed to come up with a better 'band aid', one that did not tear at your fur when you took it off. Before she died, Melody concluded, she would have to do that.

"Now you stay here while I finish all the details," beamed Kazoo, and he was off to leave Melody in her own thoughts.

She glanced around at the mush of colors. She squinted her eyes in hopes of viewing something more vibrant, more detailed. Nothing. Only colorful blobs. She sighed in dissatisfaction, but kept at it. Perhaps if she tried hard enough, her vision would come back to her. Melody almost laughed at this thought; she almost curled a smile.

It had been fifteen, twenty minutes tops that Melody had waited for her Doctor to return. And so he did; he bounded in, with a clipboard in his hand, "Mm-Kay, you're free to go, if you want."

Melody had nodded, and she stood from the seat, feeling for the front door again. As she did so, Kazoo's voice had stopped her.

"So, you looking forward to the Mayor's visit, today?" he had said.

This time, Melody had chosen to shrug. As she put her fingers around the doorknob and even had opened the door an inch or so, Kazoo had spoken again.

"Everyone's pretty hyped about it, huh?" he spoke, and from the tone of his voice, he was smiling.

Vaguely, Melody had nodded, but she didn't move, because she knew that Dr. Kazoo had more to say, he always did.

Kazoo sat at the edge of the seat that Melody had positioned herself along previously. He ran his fingers along the few notes he had, and as he spoke, his eyes were set on them instead, "The staff can't quit talking about it. The rest of you kids are pretty excited too. It's not much of a visit, either. Just one of those things to let people know he's still around, y'know? That he's still trying to do his part as Mayor."

It had taken a moment, but Melody had nodded, and she waited for more to come from his lips.

"I hope you get excited about it, too," Kazoo had smiled, this was his finishing line; this, Melody could tell.

One last time, Melody had nodded, and with that, she had left the room, never speaking a word.

000

Ned wandered into his office, a cup of coffee in hand. He grinned in the same goofy manner as he had back in his own home. He admired his newly remodeled office, and he wrung his hand around his tie again, as he lifted his chin, as if accepting a reward of some sort. Hanging above his desk, rather then the portraits of the city council, was a new painting framed with brilliant oak. It sat in majesty in brilliant and vibrant colors: a portrait of Ned McDodd. The way he had been painted, he was in a dramatic and regal pose (very much un-Ned like). Yet, once one's eyes trailed to his lips, they would take notice of the crazed grin that Ned would normal have decorated along his lips; now _this _was very much like Ned. Most would find it an odd picture, due to the contrast between the imperial posture to the wild smile and vibrant colors.

Still, Ned couldn't be happier with it.

He approached his desk, and as he took a sip of his coffee (somehow managing to keep it in his cup, today), he spoke to it, "Good Moorning, Mr. Mayor!" he beamed to the painting, "You have a nice night?"

The painting just sat there against the wall. It took up a vast amount of space; probably matching the same size comparison as all five city council portraits, were they all conjoined.

Ned had laughed gently and it matched the same craziness of his smile, as if his painted-self had told some sort of joke. He wandered to his desk and set down the coffee along the wood. As he leaned down and searched through its drawers, his elbow had unknowingly bumped the edge of the cup. The remnants within the mug had spilled off the edge of the desk, and drip-dropped onto the floor. As Ned lifted his head, a number of documents and files in hand, he blinked as he realized something was off. He put his finger on his chin as he thought hard for a moment over what could be wrong. He paced for a moment, thinking_, 'What could be off? What could it be?' _

Until his foot had landed into the puddle of deep brown liquid.

He pouted at the sight, and one could hear him mutter gentle in a sort of whine, "Not again…"

And he set his papers down along the oak desk, as though he had been doing it every day – which he had. As he eyed the mess along the floor, he set his finger on the call button on his desk. He then spoke into it, uneasily, "Er…Ms. Yelp? Can you send some – "

Before he had finished, the door had opened and there stood Ms. Yelp. She held a sour look on her face, but there were a number of paper towels in her hand. Without a word, she dropped them on the floor for Ned to fetch, and with that she had left; shutting the door behind her with a 'click'.

Ned blinked, and soon finished the sentence he had not yet managed to do, "…paper towels?" he then approached where she had left them. He leaned down to grab them, and then looked through the door, with an uneasy smile, "Er…Thank you, Ms. Yelp!"

It was barely audible, but a faint 'welcome' was pronounced through the door, in the same annoyed tone that Ms. Yelp always used with the Mayor.

Still, that was enough for Ned, apparently, seeing as he grinned now. With the towels in hand, he bounded toward the mess beside his desk. He seemed to be humming something gleefully as he cleaned up the puddle of coffee that made its home along the rug. As he did so, however, a glimmer of light reflected off a metal surface and reached the blue of his iris. The sun sparkled ahead, and the rays reflected along the item that hung just outside his office. Ned squinted his eyes as the sunlight directly hit his line of vision. As he held up his arm to block the light from hitting his eyes, he pondered over what the light was, and how it shone so marvelously that it damaged his sight. Then he realized it and laughter escaped his lips. He stood up, putting aside sopped up towels to wander over to his balcony that loomed over all of Whoville.

As he walked about it, the area was oddly welcoming and he sighed in a tone of relief, as his hand found the rim of the golden horn that hung just beside the doorway. The sun had reflected off the surface, just like before, despite the edges were beginning to chip and partially rusted; it still hung in glorious remembrance of their good friend, Horton. It had been a year now since it all; since the discovery of it all… since they all shouted 'we are here' in melodic criteria. It was a year, and yet it felt as if it was just last week.

It had been a year, since his son first spoke to him.

This thought made yet another smile grace his lips. He was happy. He was happy as he watched the pit of the horn sit there in silence, and he spoke into it, with a gentle voice, "Horton," he began, and he was still smiling, "I wish you could see what's happened since you left us here. We really owe you. Big time."

The horn did not respond, yet it sat there in an essence that it understood, that it could hear Ned's voice against the metal. There was a gentle brush of wind that ruffled Ned's fur, and his smile softened upon the touch.

A feel of accomplishment washed upon him, and, feeling satisfied, he turned from the horn to look over his home that was Whoville. All the Whos down in Whoville wandered about, continuing with their daily routine. They seemed realistic nowadays, not as gullible as they had been before. They were beginning to see that nothing was perfect, that life was life and there'd be a few difficulties.

Ned sighed and leaned over the balcony, lost in thought for a few moments as he watched the city. His trance was broken, however, when Ms. Yelp's voice broke back through.

"Mayor, City council wants you to hurry up with those papers. They want it in an hour. Tops," she spoke, her voice surprisingly calm.

However, Ned was anything then calm as he heard this sudden noise. He swung around and practically tripped over his own feet as he did so, "_An hour?!"_

"Not my choice," Ms. Yelp shrugged as she began her way out of the office, again, "I'm just the messenger, so don't drag me into this."

Then she was gone, leaving Ned to stand there with the fur on the back of his neck standing up in panic, "…An hour…" he repeated in disbelief.

With a whine, Ned scurried over to his desk to begin the paperwork. He looked to it, and his expression fell even more then he already had, and he whimpered like a kicked puppy. The pile of work before him sat on his desk nearly a foot high. As of late, the council had been pushing more and more work on top of him and it was beginning to get extraordinarily tiresome. As this thought occurred, the Mayor sunk into his seat and he griped, tiredly, "…I thought things were supposed to be easier…since when was 'easy' a foot-tall pile of paperwork?"

He then slunk back a bit more in his chair, though, he was apparently not aware of how much he did so. This was because an instant or so later he fell backwards out of his chair and onto the floor. Despite the fact he emitted a small squeal of surprise, he did not quite realize what had occurred until a moment later when he was sprawled along the floor and pain ached through his back. As he went to get up, though (cringing as he did so), the stapler barely balanced along the edge of the desk. Ironically enough, it was Ned's slight unbalance as he stumbled back, that had knocked it completely off the oak. And so the stapler followed Ned's action, and so fell, too… landing directly on his forehead.

"_FAAAH!!"_

_**--**_

Haha Poor Ned. XD And yes... Loooong first chapter. But anywho... I do hope you enjoyed this. x3 I already have a couple of chapters to put up after this. :D But I think I'll wait another day or two before I put up the next segment. x3 Anywho... I really do hope you enjoyed reading Ch. 1 8D


	2. Chapter 2

Well, here's the next chapter :3 I do hope you like it. (And TY for reading Ch. 1, too, and sticking around) 8D

--

It was noon now.

There was no clock, and yet, Melody could tell with ease what time it was. By the way the temperature of the sun fell along her skin and how the rays of light would shine onto her face, Melody could tell. She was outside, in the corner of the playground, where she would always stay. She watched the other children, or at least attempted to, as they played. The area was dull, and only had a run-down fence to protect it from the outside. On the outside of the fence, were towering multicolored trees. Trees that were vibrant and lightened the mood, still, they were on the outside, and not a single child could reach them. Inside, however, there was nothing; only the side wall of the Orphanage (a dim color of white), and the gray cement for the ground.

As one could imagine, the children easily got bored with just this wall and floor. They had constantly nagged at Mr. and Mrs. Deli for some form of enjoyment. One time for a playground, another for a ping pong set; each were denied. The Orphanage was run on donations, and this did not occur often and so was handled straight from the Deli's paycheck, which was not at all big. The Who children, however, would not stand for this. And so, as Melody watched with amusement, they had dug through the garbage and pulled together enough materials to form a shabby looking basketball hoop. It now stood in the opposite corner of Melody, watching and mocking her in its derelict composure.

Each child gathered about the hoop, every afternoon, even in the hottest heat, and simply played. Melody did not entirely understand the idiocy of it all, still, she did not question it. She'd merely watched the best she could and be a silent audience. This afternoon, however, the rest of the children were not entirely focused on the game, having stopped every five minutes or so as they brought up that the Mayor would be coming in such and such time. Right now, from what Melody had learned, he was arriving in an hour.

She yawned.

That was random, she believed, and she rubbed her eyes. She never really yawned before. Yes, half the time she couldn't sleep due to her insomnia, but she hardly ever yawned. She shrugged it off, and instead decided to listen intently to the children's conversation as they attempted to play a game of basketball.

"Ya think he'll bwing Jojo wit him?" swooned one little Who girl. She was probably the youngest here at the Orphanage, Lila. She held golden fur, and brown hair atop her head put in pig tails, swinging behind her.

"Pfft. Nah. This is strictly Mayor Business," spoke a dour little Who. He was the rebel in the group, named Joshua. His fur was a night black, and his hair was a startling scarlet that hung long over his shoulders and back. As he spoke, a piercing was visible on his tongue. In comparison to Lila, Joshua had been at the Orphanage longest, and held the most 'rep' here, amongst all the children, despite the fact that he was not the greatest of role models.

Lila bounced up and down in her spot now, her pigtails bouncing along with her body, "You dun know, Joshwa! You dun know!"

Joshua scoffed as she did this, then set his hand atop of her head in order to allow her to come to a halt, "I do too know, runt. Now can it."

Then he shoved her back, and straightened himself up, running a hand through the hair atop his head. He leaned back against the wall, and slumped down along the floor, pulling out something from his pocket and cramming it in his mouth. Lila did not question him, only whimper a bit and pull herself back up, then walk away. She knew better then to pry any further, merely leaving Joshua to himself, as did the other children.

'_How sad', _thought Melody as she watched the scene before her. How sad that each Who child here at the orphanage listened to someone as dour as Joshua. She sighed, and rested her head back against the wall, and shut her eyes, as she now was engulfed in her own thoughts.

As she did so, the sounds about her were practically gone, all but the faint whistling of the wind against her fur. Despite the fact she was conscious, images flooded into her head without her knowing. Some would consider it dreaming, but those who knew Melody would know that were not possible. For her, it was closer to 'day dreaming'; despite the fact she held no control of it. Perhaps they were closer to visions? She wasn't sure, but every now and then she would have one.

This was one of those moments.

This time, she was standing in nothingness; absolute nothingness. There was neither ground nor sky, only the night. It was the same as the color of the evening sky, a deep blue, with speckles of white for stars. It was as if she was standing in space itself, but she knew better then that. There was a silence, and she glanced around, searching desperately for something, but she did not know what. Then, very faintly, a noise began to grow. A melodic tone that she had recalled from that very day one year ago.

"We are here."

Melody squinted her eyes, trying to desperately to hear as the noise grew louder.

_"We are here."_

She was able to make it out, but barely, and the melody off instruments barricaded through the emptiness. It was a gorgeous sound in its unique tone and tempo. Melody's eyes widened as she came to a realization what the noise was.

"_We are here, we are here, we are here_!!"

All through the emptiness, the sounds spilled out. The sounds of drums, flutes, bells… they all charged to Melody's ears in a melodic voice. The sound kept on growing, climaxing to its highest point. Her eyes widened a bit as the music engulfed her. Somehow, she found it comforting. Somehow, she was at ease in the moment as she stood in silence. Then she had done something she had never quite expected of herself, she opened her mouth and followed their cue.

"…We are here," she murmured, in the smallest of voices, and her body tensed along her own words. She was looking to the emptiness where her feet stood, then bit her lip, before whispering again, but this time in a partially louder voice, _"We are here."_

Then she glanced upward to the sky overhead and yelled it, _"We are here!!"_

Then all was silent, and it was only Melody's voice that had ringed out into the emptiness. And frankly, that frightened her in someway. She was alone in the darkness, and it was only her voice that echoed. It was only her standing here, and it was only her voice that was speaking… alone in this void with nothing to support her.

"Ah. So you _are_ here."

Melody suddenly swung around. She knew that voice. It was not of her own, but she heard it every Saturday. She was correct. There he stood, in his doctor attire as per usual; the same way she saw him each appointment. There was Dr. Kazoo Who, looming over Melody and watching with a grin…

"But I think you should change the 'we' to an 'I'," Kazoo had suggested, with a voice that did not seem entirely his.

Melody watched him – no…she watched his _smile _carefully. It was manic, not sincere and warm as it used to be. It was… demonic and insane, and Melody did not like those words.

He snatched her wrist, and Melody's eyes snapped open. His touch was…_cold. _As if his skin had been dipped in ice water and had died there. She shuddered, and glanced up to him. He was holding a scalpel now. Had he had that the entire time? She did not know. Still, her eyes were focused upon it now, and she was…frightened. She did not remember the last time she felt this emotion, yet, it was flooding through her body now and she could not control it.

Dr. Kazoo looked at her, and his eyes were empty, yet his grin spread along his face from cheek to cheek, "What a lovely voice you have… what a shame it's going to waste."

He held up the scalpel a bit higher now, and pulled her close to his body. He then laughed along her timid composure, "You're quite a cutie, aren't you?"

She didn't answer, only shake.

"But a little too quiet for my taste," he noted, and he brought the scalpel close to her neck. He loomed over her now, his hot breath falling on her skin, "…But, y'see… that's the main difference between you and the rest of the Whos, here…"

He brought the device closer, until it just barely touched her skin. Melody quivered in his grasp, her eyes wide and overwhelmed with fear.

"We, _our _voices, are here. Yours, dear Melody, is not."

And the scalpel gashed through her neck…

…Just as her eyes shot open.

Melody wasn't sure how long she had been like this, sitting on the ground with her eyes shut. She rubbed her eyes, and whined lightly. Desperately, she reached for her throat, and a sigh of relief escaped her lips as she came to a realization that it was still in tact. There was no blood, no gash, just the creamy colored fur lying on her flesh. Her posture and mood lightened as she discovered this, so that she now realized the commotion occurring about her. The Who children were rushing in, climbing atop of one another in order to do so. Melody glanced upwards to the immense clock that hung along the side wall of the building.

One o'clock.

Then she realized why there was a sudden rush. The mayor was probably just arriving. That had to be the explanation. Melody leaned over, as she watched each child cram into the building.

This was her first mistake.

Some child, most likely Joshua, had stumbled over the poor Who. Melody, on the other hand, had not quite expected it. She found herself tripping over, and rolling over forward, twice, on the cement. She blinked and now barricaded her head under her arms as if something dangerous was raining from the sky. She gritted her teeth and waited for the stampede of Who kids to be over. She could hear the gentle footsteps surround her, though; to _her _they were anything but gentle. She counted the seconds in her head; she was up to forty by the time the last child had jumped over her. Despite the fact it was now clear, she continued to debate whether or not it was safe to lift her head…

And her second mistake? Well, this was simply to get up and attempt to follow the crowd… when her vision could only show her blurry blobs. Still, she had pulled herself up, once the majority of the Whos were indoors, leaving her to trail behind them. She groped for the doorframe, and squinted her eyes as she now watched the crowd of Whos wander down the corridor. They weren't exactly 'quiet' as they did so either. Half of the time, they were stumbling upon each other, just to make it to the end of hallway. Melody rolled her white eyes, and crossed her arms, taking her time to wander scarlet rug. She held no rush, but merely strolled casually down the corridor, following the sounds that emitted from the main lobby.

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Yes - considerably shorter then the first chapter. XD But I thought this was an appropriate place to stop. And yes, not as much of the actual HHAW characters in this one, but that's comin up real soon. Dontcha worry. 8D


	3. Chapter 3

Alrighty ! x3 Ch. 3! Yahs. :D And THIS chapter has much more of the mayor: Hoorays! 8D

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"Mr. Ma'or, Mr. Ma'or!" she could hear Lila speaking.

Then there was another voice, one that did not belong to the Orphanage, but was well-known nonetheless, "Yes, sweetie?" spoke Ned, he had a smile on his lips.

"Did you bwing Jojo wit you?" grinned Lila, as she bounced up and down like she had done earlier.

Ned had laughed gently, but there was a noticeable uneasiness in his voice, "Er…No, um…what's your name, Miss?"

"Lila," she responded, but she had stopped her bouncing, as she stuck out her lower lip as she heard that Joshua had been correct; he now stood in the back of the room, stifling a laugh.

"Well, Lila…er…no, I didn't bring him with me," Ned responded, and his tone was still uneasy and his smile had gone in a sort of pouting manner. Nonetheless, he blinked as he watched Lila's expression fall a bit more in a whiny tone that reminded him of one of his own daughters. He quickly offered a hopeful smile and straightened himself up as he set his hands on his waist, "But I'll make sure to bring him next time, how's that?"

This was a big mistake of Ned's… and he soon came to realize this, once all the female Who children had wandered before him, nearly causing him to fall along the ground due to the sheer intensity of the crowd that now surrounded him at every corner.

"Ooh! You will, you will?" spoke one Who girl.  
"He said he will!" giggled another; she was grinning ear to ear.  
"Oh, he is, he is!"

Then Ned was bombarded with questions, as if it were some sort of interview about his son.

"What's his favorite color?"  
"What's his favorite thing to eat for breakfast?"  
"And what about his favorite dessert?"  
"Is he single?"  
"_Does he have a girlfriend?!"_

On this last note, Ned held his tie, his body tense as he managed an uneasy laugh, "Er…Hehe…Well, y'know…" he couldn't exactly find words as all these questions came at him at one, as he attempted to back up a bit. He managed a laugh again – somehow, laughing made it a better, but he wasn't sure how. Somehow, he figured that if he laughed long enough, that they'd quit the questions about Jojo, and they could go on about something else, "Well, I…Um…I'll make sure to ask…"

Ned then cleared his voice, and straightened himself up to look over the sea of Jojo-fan girls, "…Just out of curiosity, are there any questions that don't involve my son?" he was smiling, but despite the fact it was wide and broad, the uneasiness still sat there on his lips.

Over the horde of girls, the guys began to peak interest. They had planned to wait it out until the Who girls had finished their questioning of their latest fandom. Now was a good a time as any to begin their own questions they had for the Mayor.

"Yeah. I got one," said Dash, raising his hand as a smile spread on his lips, "What's it take to be Mayor?"

Ned now grinned. Finally, something he could really answer, "Ah, good question, I–"

Then came another question, before Ned could even get the first answer out, "Was it true that you were a boob before you met Horton?"

"Er…Well, I…"

Then another, this one was Joshua, "Hey, say you and the heir to become Mayor _died_ – can people vote _anyone_ to be Mayor?"

Then after that, a jumble of questions had shot out all at once. Ned bit his lip and held his tie, with an uneasy tone as the material wrinkled under his grasp. It was just like it had been previously with the girls; except the only difference was the girls held questions about Jojo…the boys seemed more interested about how to steal his job.

"Is there an age limit for Mayors?"  
"Where can I sign up for it?"  
"Can I be Mayor next?"

At this point, Ned was practically pressed against the wall. He looked down to all the kids, as well as the girls who began their own questioning again. It had been a few minutes of this, as well as uneasy laughter on Ned's part, until he glanced over to Mr. and Mrs. Mel-Deli, pleadingly.

The only response he could get had included an uneasiness of their own. It was Mrs. Deli who had spoken first, "Er…Sorry, Mr. Mayor. They had just come in from outside, so they're a bit riled up."

Ned only smiled with the same awkwardness, and he straightened himself, setting a hand on one of the Who girl's heads to halt her, as she attempted to climb upon him, "Th-that's alright…Then maybe I should wait it out until they're a bit calmer? Maybe, possibly…hopefully?"

"Go on ahead, Mr. Mayor," spoke Mr. Deli, and he motioned toward the exit of the room, "The break room's just down the hall and'll be the very last door at the end. Just give us a few minutes to calm the kids down."

"Er, right – gotcha. Last door on the hall," Ned repeated as he pulled himself away from the children and had practically darted for his escape route. He swung out the door and practically slid into the wall within the corridor as he did so. This had caused the rest of the Whos in the room, both kid and adult, to stare in wonder at their odd Mayor, McDodd.

Ned wasn't quite sure how fast he was darting down the hall, but nonetheless, he was running as if the mob of kids were chasing after him. He somehow needed to get out of that room before he lost more sanity than he already had. Still, it was with this goal embedded in his head that he did not notice the small Who had partially skimmed against. He did, however, hear the gentle 'thump' of this Who fall to the ground. Ned stopped himself and glanced behind him, and his eyes widened a bit as he saw the thirteen-year-old girl sprawled along the floor. She was lifting herself back up, but her head was aimed toward the ground. As this occurred, Ned had done what he thought was best. He quickly jolted over to the child, and quickly helped her to her feet.

"Um…Sorry about that, Miss," Ned responded, with an uneasy laugh, "I was sorta in a rush."

Then she, Melody, glanced up to him. She tilted her head and leaned forward now, and held onto her shin, carefully. It was throbbing a bit, and she knew well enough that it would bruise. She watched him carefully with her white eyes, and she knew what assumption he had made due to the absence of color in her irises.

"Oh," was all Ned had said, as he now lifted himself up. He was careful to support the child, to make sure she did not fall again, "Er…Were you heading somewhere?"

Melody tilted her head again, with her body still leaned over as she held her injured shin. She pointed to the end of the hall, and said nothing.

"Were you heading to the break room?" Ned had questioned, glancing to the direction she had pointed, the same direction he had been heading toward, previously.

Melody nodded. She had shortly visited the Mayor properly like all the other Who children had, but once realizing there was no point to it and the immense crowd that gathered there, she felt there was no point. So, here she had been heading to the break room to search for her daily pain medication, until she had, ironically, bumped into the Mayor, anyway.

"Hey, Miss, do you–" Ned had began, but Melody had already began to dart off. He thought he saw her glance to him a moment before, but he was not certain, "Er – Wait!"

Already halfway down the corridor, Melody had stopped to glance back to him. She said nothing, but merely motioned for him to follow.

And so he did. He had followed her for the entire length of the hallway, and during this, he was wondering if Melody could see or not. He had seen the white eyes she had, and this made it seem as though she were blind, but, the way she wandered the hallway told otherwise. He debated this matter in his head until he had reached their destination. She had managed to take him all the way to the break room, where he had planned to go either way. He walked in to find her, already groping around for the proper cabinet. He watched her, uncertain. He then tilted his head, wondering what was wrong with the poor girl.

"She's not blind," spoke a voice.

Ned lifted his head as he heard this. He glanced toward the direction of the voice, and there sat Dr. Kazoo at the table within the room, simply drinking a can of soda.

"Oh, er…I wasn't…" Ned had begun to say, but he stopped himself. He couldn't say that – that would be a lie to say he wasn't thinking that.

Kazoo raised his chin and offered a welcoming smile, "She's not blind, Mr. Mayor," he repeated, his eyes glancing from Ned to Melody as she squinted her eyes and finally spotted the cabinet she was looking for, "At least, not yet."

Ned glanced from Kazoo and then to the girl, uncertain. He scratched his head, confused, but then spoke, "Er – You obviously know who I am, but who are _you_? And who is _she_?"

"Oh, right," Kazoo laughed gently, as he now stood, wandering over to Melody, "I'm Dr. Kazoo, Melody's personal doctor. That's her name, by the way – Melody. You shouldn't bother asking her things like that, she won't answer even if you try."

Again, Ned watched. His bewilderment was rising with each passing moment. He ran a hand through the brown hair on his head, and ran the tips of his fingers down the side of his face to his chin, "Er. Right…And… why's that?"

Kazoo laughed as he now lifted Melody by the waist and onto the counter, allowing her to reach the cabinet she was eyeing, "Isn't that obvious? It's because she doesn't want to. Should it be any harder than that?"

Ned couldn't speak for a moment; he was too busy watching Melody search through the cabinet in an attempt to find her indicated medicine.

"I…well…I guess not," Ned responded. He was confused, really, but he didn't stop Kazoo as he had continued to explain Melody to him. Something about this girl fascinated him, and he wanted to learn more, "But you said she's not blind yet. Why's there a 'Yet'?"

"It's called 'progressive blindness'," Kazoo explained, not taking his eyes off Melody, making sure that she would not make one small slip up to end up falling off the counter, "Right now, everything's just blurry to her and she can't make out distinct shapes or details, but eventually, even that'll be gone."

"So, she's going blind, then?" Ned responded, taking a step toward the two, but he still watched Melody with raising wonder, "And…the Orphanage isn't doing anything about it?"

Kazoo didn't respond.

"Doesn't that sound a _'little'_ coo-coo to you to just let a little girl go blind without even doing anything about it?"

"Mr. Mayor," Kazoo responded as he now brought Melody back down onto the floor once she had succeeded in getting what she wished for. As he leaned down to Melody's level, he opened the bottle for Melody and set the required amount of pills in the palm of her hand, all while continuing his conversation with Ned, "I'm sure you're aware that the Orphanage you speak of runs on donations, right?"

"Yes?"

"Then you should know how little or rare those donations are," Kazoo had explained, as he now stood up straight, once more watching Melody as she dug into the refrigerator now for a simple glass of water to take her pills with, "On top of Melody's illnesses, we also have a whole building of kids to take care of. We need enough money for food, clothes, education… not to mention just to keep this roof over their heads. It's just too expensive right now to cover all of the problems Melody faces."

For a moment, Melody had glanced over her shoulder as Kazoo said this. She already knew all this, yet, somehow it still hurt her a bit to hear it again. She glanced back to the refrigerator, making sure her face was hidden before it fell, then continued on with getting a glass of water.

"Problem_s_?" Ned had repeated, as his eyebrows furrowed with confusion again, "As in… _plural?"_

"Yes, plural," Kazoo responded calmly as he now took his seat back at the table, and taking a sip of his soda again.

Apparently, this answer was not certain enough for Ned, because he had continued on, questioning him, "As in – _more then one problem?"_

"That's the usual stance of it, yes."

"But how could she – what more could be going on with her? Isn't that enough?" Ned responded, motioning toward Melody in disbelief, as she now took out a gallon of water from the refrigerator. He glanced at her for a moment, but then quickly darted over to her as she began to stumble over a bit, the weight of the gallon on her thin arms were slightly too much. Biting his lip, Ned had quickly taken the water before it had the chance to fall. He emitted a sigh of relief from his lips. He had leaned down a bit to Melody's level, the gallon of water still in his grasp. Ned motioned toward Melody, again, but this time kept his eye on Kazoo, "What else is there that she has to deal with?"

Kazoo narrowed his eyes slightly as he now watched Ned. He seemed to be restraining from saying something and his body shook slightly, but the reason for this was unknown. He took a breath to steady himself then spoke, "A number of things, Mr. Mayor. A number of things. Now if you please…I'm sure the rest of the kids are waiting for you. You know the way."

Ned was slightly taken aback by this. He glanced to Melody, who seemed partially confused at the moment, then stood. Sighing heavily, he walked away, knowing that there was nothing more that he could do.

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Mmkay :D there it is... I hope you enjoyed it. Please Review! X3 I read all of them; TY for them all!!


	4. Chapter 4

Ned could not quit thinking about the girl throughout the day, even after he had left the Orphanage, continuing on all the way home

Ned could not quit thinking about the girl throughout the day, even after he had left the Orphanage, continuing on all the way home. Through dinner, he did not even smile, not once; his mind too engulfed with confusion and pity for the Who girl. He was the last one at the table now. Each of his daughters had already left to prepare for bed, Jojo had gone back to the observatory, and now his wife even stood from the table and headed toward the kitchen sink to clean her dish. Ned, however, just sat at the table poking the meatball back and forth along his plate. He couldn't quit thinking about it; how she seemed so hollow and lost, like a puppet that had lost its strings and doesn't know how to function. He bit his lip, trying to think hard for some sort of solution for it. Well…he did think of _one_ solution.

He then shook his head, getting the idea out of his head. _No, no… Sally would never go for it. _He sighed and stabbed the meatball on his plate, then brought the fork to his vision, just watching the piece of food sit there at the tip, "_hmm…_"

"Honey?" Sally suddenly spoke. She was standing just behind him as he still sat in the chair. How long had she been standing there? Her expression was one of concern as she now leaned over him a bit, putting her arms comfortingly about him, "Is…something the matter? You haven't been yourself since you got home. Something happen at work?"

Ned glanced up now, and he was drawn back from his thoughts to see his wife. He leaned his head back against the head of the chair so that he could watch her. He smiled uneasily, "Oh, sorry, Hon… Yeah, something like that," and he laughed lightly, then stood from his seat, grabbing the plate from the table, bringing it to the sink just like the rest of his family had done.

Sally watched her husband, unsure. She mostly watched the plate he held, it was full. Not an inch of the pasta had been touched, and the meatballs had only been either rolled along the plate or stabbed at, but not eaten. This only occurred when he was sick. Carefully, Sally had analyzed Ned's stature. No, he wasn't sick… but his expression seemed off. Despite the fact he was smiling convincingly, it did not hide the fact that there was uneasiness with it, as if the smile would break any second.

"Hey, sweetie," Sally had urged on now, as she approached her husband. She took the plate from him, and carefully watched it. She sighed and showed Ned the plate; he only offered her a confused look, as she spoke, "Since when do you ever leave your plate like _this?_"

Ned blinked, but then laughed lightly, "Er well…I don't know…" he responded, and held his hand up to his forehead as if to test the temperature of it, "I just wasn't hungry – maybe I'm catching a cold."

"I'd say so," Sally responded, but then began to dish the untouched food into a container she pulled from the drawer, "But why don't you put the girls to bed… and then we can have a nice little chat about this, alright?"

"Well, I…" Ned trailed off. He wasn't all that sure about this. If anything, he didn't want Sally to be brought into this. Now, Ned was beginning to get frustrated with himself… It wasn't supposed to be all that big a deal, but for some reason, it hounded him like it was the paparazzi, "Is a chat really necessary…?"

Sally shot him a look that told him the answer instantly without her even having to mutter a word.

"Er…right…little chit-chat – gotcha," Ned murmured, his words running together awkwardly as he spoke them. He had nodded, and turned to depart, but had stopped himself. He glanced back to his wife, who now put the container of leftover spaghetti away, and then with a sigh, he went back to her. In one swift motion, he had stole a kiss from her, and took in the sweet scent he had fallen in love with so many years ago, "And I'm fine – Promise."

Then he left.

000

The dong of the clock echoed ten times by the time Ned had reached his final Who daughter. He had began one hour ago, tucking in each one of his little girls under the blankets of their bed, then whispering to each, separately, "Good night," and would kiss either their cheek or forehead. Usually, he smiled along this nightly routine. For some, it would be a pain to have to take care of ninety-six Who girls. For Ned, it was one part of his life that we wouldn't dare change. Each girl was perfect and beautiful in their own way, and each had their moments. Moments that Ned sometime found it difficult to deal with it – but even those times, he would not change. No, not a thing… This was his life and they were _his _girls – for him, this was perfection.

Yet, tonight, he was not smiling as fully as he would normally. His mind was still adrift, and it caused some of the small girls to worry about their father. Opening their mouths to ask what was wrong, but they stopped themselves, knowing that their Daddy may not wish to talk about it.

He leaned down to one of his daughters, Hooley, and gently pressed his lips to her forehead. As he did this, Hooley stirred a bit, and opened one eye. She was drowsy and close to sleep, but she was just barely awake, "Daddy…?"

Ned smiled along the sound of her soft childlike voice. It was small things like this – like the way she said 'Daddy' – that made him smile, "Yes, sweetie?"

Hooley seemed to be debating what to say and how to say it. She knew something was wrong with Daddy, but she could not name it. Eventually, she just took a breath and leaned up to hug him around his neck, while he was still leaned down close to her bed, "I love you, Daddy."

Ned had smiled again and returned her affection by kissing her forehead, again, "I love you too, Hooley – Now off to sleep, alright?"

Faintly, Hooley had nodded her little Who head, rubbing an eye as she broke away. As she snuggled back into her sheets, a few more voices broke through the room, one after the other.

"I love you too, Daddy."  
"I love you three."  
"I wuv yew four!"  
"I wub you the bestest!"

The words just kept on coming, and each one made Ned's heart warm even more. His expression softened as he listened to all his daughters. He laughed gently, but then grinned widely to show he was still okay, "I love you girls, too. Now, Good night, all of you."

One by one, each girl had smiled at the sight of their father's smile, and they each responded their 'good nights', and followed Hooley's lead, curling close to their pillows and sheets, and hugging their teddy bears with tiny smiles on their lips.

Ned glanced back once more time, and there was a faint laugh before he wandered out of the room and shut off the light. Just outside the door though, and making sure he was fully alone now; he sighed heavily and rested against the wall. Ned set his head in his hands and groaned now. His mind was clouded in his thoughts, now… but the image of white eyes had etched itself in his head. With every one of his girls, he had seen not their eyes, but the white irises of Melody's. He bit his lip. What was going on with him? It's not like she's the only messed up kid in Whoville. It's not like there aren't any other little girls who have diseases.

But what if one of those 'other little girls' were one of his own. His stomach twisted at the thought. If he were the father of one of those 'messed up kids', how could he cope? How could he be able to look at them in the face…? What would he do? He'd do something about it, that's what. He'd find a way to cure them. He'd go to the ends of the world to find something to save his little girl. _His _little girl would be saved… they would not have to worry over something silly like 'progressive blindness', because their Daddy would make sure that would never happen.

_But what about Melody?  
_  
He tensed. He knew the answer to that, and he hated it. If her condition was as bad as Dr. Kazoo had described to him, then she would be dead within a set amount of years. Perhaps she would not even live past twenty. Ned glanced up to the ceiling, dropping his arms to his side, as he thought deeply. He tilted his head, just staring at the ceiling overhead, as if it would provide some sort of answer. It was in this moment that he was too engulfed in thought to really notice who had wandered just in front of him.

"Dad?"

Ned blinked and glanced down at the voice. There was Jojo; his arms filled to the brim with a number of supplies that Ned assumed were for his inventing purposes. Jojo looked up to his father, and he had an eyebrow arched, confused. He waited, patiently, for a response.

"Er…Jojo," Ned responded, and he straightened himself and attempted to grin. He then attempted to 'play it cool', and formed both sets of his fingers into peace signs and slumped over his body in a 'teenage-like' position, "Hey, Jojo – fashizzle! What's happenin, J-dawg?"

Jojo sighed, and even rolled his eyes along with it. Still managing to keep all of his belongings in his grasp, he took one of Ned's wrists, and pulled it downward in a way to tell him to stop. This was all Jojo had done, but it was enough for Ned to grasp the meaning of it.

Ned softened his composure a bit and his expression fell slightly. He straightened his body, and regained himself, quitting the act.

"Dad," Jojo had begun again, and he watched Ned, critically, "…What's going on? You've been 'off' since you came home today."

Then Ned had smiled to Jojo, glancing down to him with uneasiness, "You sound_ just _like your Mother…But, I'm fine, son – I sware."

Jojo didn't answer, but only gave Ned a look of disapproval.

Ned shifted his eyes to the side, uneasily. He thought for a moment, poking his chin, "…Yeah…Your mother gives me that look too…"

Again, Jojo didn't respond, but waited, patiently. His expression told all, he didn't need words to express that, and Ned could see this. Faintly, Ned had slumped over again, and his arms fell at his sides. How was it that everyone could see right through him? His entire family knew something was on his mind. Was he really _that _transparent? Ned took a breath, but he did not look to Jojo as he now chose to spoke, "Jojo…Can I ask you something?"

Jojo did not answer; only watch with wide curious eyes now, his expression softening as he watched Ned.

Taking this as a 'yes', Ned took a breath and glanced to his son from the corner of his eye. He did not face him entirely; he couldn't find it in himself to do that. He tapped his chin again, uneasily, and spoke, "…If, say, you met a _complete_ stranger and they happened to be very sick…You probably know them for about five or ten minutes, then go on with your life. And say you can't quit thinking about that person and how sick they are… but they're only just one person, and there are plenty of other sick people, right? Well, what would you do then? Would you just go on and get over it or would you actually do something about it?"

Jojo had arched an eyebrow as Ned said this. He held a look of confusion, just staring at his father without a word.

There was a heavy sigh from Ned and he looked to his son, his expression falling, "You think I'm crazy – "

" – No," Jojo had quickly said. It came in fast before Ned could get a chance to completely finish his sentence. The word from Jojo came in a quick and soft note, but it was still spoken, in the same voice Ned was beginning to understand more each day. Jojo began again, "No, I don't…"

Jojo took a breath, and he held the materials in his hands a bit more tightly, "…I don't think you're crazy, at least not with this…" (He took a breath again), "But, well…with that question…I think I'd help that stranger. You know them for ten minutes, sure – but you still know them. Once you meet a person, you owe them something that you can't go back on. And maybe they _are_ just one person…That still doesn't change much of anything. Soon, it'll be another person you forget, then another and another – it adds up. One person may not sound like a lot, but they're still a person."

Ned took all this in. He didn't quite remember Jojo talking that much, at least not all at once. He watched Jojo, carefully, trying to absorb every word his son had said as if he were some sort of Who-sponge. With this, he carefully considered something in his head, and then he came to a decision. His head bobbed up and down in a nod, and he ruffled the hair on Jojo's head, "Thanks, Jojo," he responded, and smiled suddenly.

Jojo fidgeted a bit as his father did this, and he just stared to him, uncertain. Still, the sight of his Father smiling and actually meaning it eased him. Somehow, it made it better for both of them. Jojo didn't say anything else, but watched his father, curiously, even as he lifted his hand from his head and began to walk off toward his bedroom. Jojo continued to watch. He did not turn until Ned was completely out of sight, and there was a faint feel of accomplishment as he too turned around to leave.


	5. Chapter 5

**First off, I'd like to thank EVERYONE who's been supporting me and reading this. 8D Thank you SOO much for motivating me to continue to write all of this. x3 Thank you all!**

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Sally sat in their bed, waiting, patiently as she flipped through a magazine labeled 'Who-Cooking!' With ninety-nine people in the house, it was helpful to have some recipes in handy. Still, she didn't say a word; only go through each page as she waited for her husband. Vaguely, she had glanced to the clock. In silence, it read '10:07'. She sighed. Ned should arrive very soon. In her head, she had already planned out how the conversation would go, ever since Ned had departed to put their daughters to bed. She flipped another page, and glanced to the door - still no Ned quite yet. Still, she would wait. Even if he was three hours later then usual, she would be up waiting. Ned would not get out of this one.

There was a faint creak of the door, and Ned had strolled inside, quietly. He watched Sally, carefully, who glanced up to him from her reading, then looked back down. Ned gulped. He always hated these talks. Still, she was his wife and he had to respect her wanting to understand what was going on his head, even if most people wouldn't understand that. He closed the door behind him, and stood there for a moment, just watching Sally. He took a big breath, and walked to the bed. Without saying a word, he crawled under the covers beside his wife, still quietly. Now, it was only a matter of time before someone said the first word.

And of course, it would be Sally. She took a breath, and set down the magazine from her vision and propped it on her lap, "Ned?"

So, it began.

The Mayor of Whoville took a deep breath and sat up. At first, he had avoided Sally's gaze, but he could practically feel the heat of her vision on his fur, and decided otherwise. He glanced to her now, and offered a warm smile, despite the fact it came in an awkward stance, "Uuum…Yes, Sally?"

"Are all the girls in bed?" she questioned first. This was how it always starts out. Sally would begin with small talk and continue on to the true point of the conversation.

Ned bit his lip and nodded.

"And what about Jojo?"

Ned stole a quick glance away from Sally, as if taking a breath, "He's…er…heading back to the observatory."

Sally only nodded, and then went back into a hush. She had glanced to the clock again, as if waiting for Ned to begin. He didn't though. Instead, Ned chose to sit there, awkwardly, on his side of the bed. He traced his finger in a circle on the blankets, hoping that some sort of escape route was possible. Eventually, he breathed deeply and murmured, still tracing this small pattern with the nub of his finger, "I really am fine, Sal…But, there's something I gotta ask you."

He glanced up now, to look at her. Ned's expression was uneasy, and he seemed to be biting his tongue now.

"Yes, Ned?" Sally urged on. She had set her magazine aside now, and leaned over a bit. Her full attention was on her husband now, and she was patiently waiting for an answer.

"Sally, have you…" Ned trailed off, and he thought for a moment, as he crossed one arm in front of him, and tapped his temple with his other hand, thinking of how to put his words.

"Have I…what?" Sally inquired, arching an eyebrow, as she still moved her body closer to Ned's. Her expression was confused, just like her son's had been earlier, but she still listened intently for Ned's response.

Ned took a big breathe now, and looked to Sally with a fake-courageous expression. He sat up, and in one quick jumble of words, he asked, "Have you ever thought… _about-having-another-kid?"_Sally had nearly fallen off the bed as she heard this. She blinked and watched her husband in disbelief, "Is _that _was this is about? Hon, I think you really are catching a cold."

She went to set her hand on his head, checking his temperature, curiously, "Well, no fever."

"S-Sally, I'm not sick, really," pouted Ned as he glanced to Sally like a small puppy.

Sally stared at him, carefully. Her eyes wandered over him and analyzed every bit of his stature, until she took a breath in disbelief, realizing that Ned was in fact serious over the matter, "…Er…Ned, you _know _I'm not in much condition to have another."

Ned poked his fingers together as he heard this, and he shifted his eyes to the side again, not ready to quite face Sally yet, "I-I know that…but I don't mean from scratch. I was talking about…I don't know…maybe…_adopting?"_Arching an eyebrow, Sally had watched him with wonder. Could he really mean what he was saying? She checked his temperature again, now practically leaning over him entirely, "Honey…I don't…"

"Before you say anything," Ned began, taking a breath as he moved Sally's hand from his forehead, "I want you to listen to what I gotta say about this, alright? So, just sit still for a second."

Sally had taken a breath as he said this, but, respecting Ned's wishes, she had only nodded, and she braced for what he had to say.

Ned had smiled in gratitude to this, and he stood from the bed now, beginning to explain what had occurred today at the Orphanage. He explained every aspect of the Who girl, Melody. How he had found her wandering down the hallway, how she tripped when they met, the colors of her eyes, how she wobbled when she walked – _everything. _It just flowed from his lips as if it were air, as if it was as natural as breathing. He had spent a decent twenty minutes explaining every tiny little aspect of the child and her condition, and how he wanted to do something about it. As he spoke, he moved all about the room, even at times imitating how Melody would wander about the break-room, trying to see what she could not. By the time he had finished, he was breathing heavily. It had taken a good bit of him to say _everything _that he wanted Sally to hear.

"So, there," Ned responded and leaned over the foot over the bed now, watching Sally, hopefully, "_That's_ why… I think we should adopt."

Sally just sat there, watching her husband. She had listened to every tiny detail, and the more she heard, the more she seriously debated the matter in her head. It wasn't just a matter of adopting now, she was _actually _considering it. Ned watched her, nervously, and his grasp upon the foot of the bed was becoming more and more tight as he waited for an answer.

Finally, she spoke, "Ned, sweetie…What makes you think we'll be any better for her than the Orphanage?"

Ned's heart sank a bit, but he would refuse to go down that easily. When he was this passionate over this matter, he would at least go down fighting for what he believed to be right, "Sal! Of course we're better for her! I'm the Mayor, aren't I? I can at _least_ make her life more comfortable before she…well, before she…"

He gulped now; he could not find it in himself to finish the sentence.

"That's another thing, Ned," Sally spoke with a sigh, she lifted her chin a bit and now stood from the bed, wandering over to her husband, "Are you going to be able handle it if she does in fact die? What if you get attached to this girl – how are you going to be deal with it?"

Ned thought for a moment, but he came up blank. He could not find an answer for a question like that. He sighed, "I don't know."

"So that's it," Sally murmured, and turned to head back to the bed, "That's why I don't think – "

"Sally," Ned interrupted, and his wife stopped in her tracks, turning around to face him, "I get all that, but…I still think we should do this,"(he then recalled what Jojo had said to him), "It may just be one person…but she's still a person, after all."

Now Sally debated this matter even more in her mind. She tapped her temple now, thinking deeply over it. She then sighed, "A person's a person," she responded, recalling what their savior, Horton, always said.

"And I think she deserves a chance to be that person, at least once in her life," Ned had continued on now. This was all he had left to say. If she didn't agree at this point, he couldn't win. His heart thumped in his neck now, and each moment that she did not answer, his anxiousness had rose. By the time Sally had opened her mouth to speak, Ned's voice had gone dry, and his hand was wrung so tightly about the end of the bed that his fur had bristled to the point that it now stood entirely on end.

"You can bring her home tomorrow," Sally spoke, coolly as she now began to climb back into her bed, "I'll make sure to set an extra plate at dinner."

Ned's expression had suddenly brightened, and his heart fluttered a bit. Before he even said anything, Ned had galloped over to Sally and brought her into a full-blown embrace. By the way her heartbeat skipped and how her body tensed so suddenly, Ned had understood that she did not quite expect this. Nonetheless, he could not stop himself. He wanted to hold her now forever in his arms. As he calmed down, he now began to pull away, trailing his hands now down her arms, and eventually intertwining their fingers. He smiled widely to her, "Thank you, honey – We'll both be glad we did this. Trust me."

--

**Yeah. This chapter's a little shorter, but I didn't want to plunge to much deeper then I had. x3 But still... I hope you enjoyed it. :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Alrighty. So, here's Ch. 6. x3 First off, I'd like to say that I've just listened to the song 'It's Possible' from Seussical, and I was totally inspired. 8D But still... mild language warning for this, _very_ mild, but still present. Lawls. Enjoy! :D**

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It was four o'clock the next evening, and Ned now stood in front of the Orphanage. His hand crinkled his white tie as he nervously watched the building in front of him. His thumb then graced the golden Mayoral crest, and something about the touch of the metal had gotten to him. Ned glanced to it, the object shining in the light and in return onto his vision. He squinted his eyes a bit as this occurred, but he released his grasp upon the tie and crest, and then took a deep breath.

"It shouldn't be that hard, right? Just go in, sign some papers, and you bring home another little girl," spoke Ned, courageously and with that, he headed inside.

Well, it _was_ that hard…

Here he was, Ned McDodd – Mayor of Whoville – shrinking back under Dr. Kazoo's disapproving words. It was only he, Ned, Dr. Kazoo, Mr. Deli, and Melody within the room. Cowering in the corner was Ned. The one causing the cowering was Kazoo. On the opposite side of the room, Mr. Deli was watching, confused, and sitting on top of the filing cabinet was Melody, whose expression matched Mr. Deli's. Ned was not sure how it had gotten to this point. All he had done was go the front desk, say that he wanted to adopt, and was sent straight to Mr. Deli's office. During the confrontation between Deli and himself, Deli had sent for Dr. Kazoo along with Melody to discuss the matter. Then, after that… It got really ugly, _really_ fast.

"A-all I wanted was to adopt Melody!" defended Ned, in an almost whimpering tone as he used his arms in order to block himself from Kazoo.

"Do you have any idea what that could do to her though? What she needs is to be here!" shouted Dr. Kazoo. He was growling now, and he was so very different then the carefree Kazoo he normally was, "You have no right fooling around like this and taking someone like Melody away – someone who _needs _the attention of this Orphanage!"

"B-but…" Ned stammered, he couldn't find words, and his stomach twisted in knots.

"Don't you 'but' me!" Kazoo snapped, and he loomed over Ned, he was a distinct amount taller then him, and thus, as he did this, it was as if he some carnivorous beast about to eat its prey, "Dammit, Melody can't go! _Don't you get that?!_ She can't handle being outside these walls! Tell him, Mr. Deli!"

Deli blinked, not quite expecting to be brought so suddenly into the conversation. He glanced nervously from Kazoo to the pleading Mayor behind him, "Well, er…" he trailed off, but then regained his professional composure, "We firstly have to consider what's really right for Melody, here."

"-Which would be _here_," Kazoo had quickly spoken, refusing to lose this battle.

"Not necessarily, Doctor," sighed Deli and he glanced to Melody. She sat there, arching an eyebrow as she watched them all. She tapped her fingers in a melodic tone over the cabinet she set upon, as if waiting for Deli to continue, and so he did, "If anything, the Mayor here has all that we have provided for her and more."

Kazoo blinked, understanding where Deli was headed and a scowl was now written on his face, "You can't be serious, Del… How the hell do you think a boob like this is going to manage taking care of _her?!" _

Upon this, Ned could notice Melody had tensed and her expression had fallen. Biting his lip, he looked back to Mr. Deli, and he prayed to God that Deli would side with him.

"Mr. Mayor?" Deli began, and he took a breath watching Ned carefully.

Ned straightened and almost had done a salute to show his obedience, "Y-yes?"

"Do you have a suitable doctor to take Melody _every _week?" inquired Deli, his tone serious now.

Ned watched Deli for a moment, but then, he had instantly nodded in a frantic tone, "_Yes."_

"And do you have enough money to take care of her like she was any of your other daughters? What about treating her like she never was adopted to begin with? Can you do that?" Mr. Deli interviewed now.

Again, there was no hesitation in Ned's voice, and he pushed his way past a frustrated Kazoo, "Yes and Yes, Mr. Mel-Deli. I can take care of her! I can give her _more_ then all that! _I can give her a life outside of all this."_

There was silence for a moment, and no one spoke. Then, there was a gentle thump as Melody's feet hit the floor, and all attention was drawn on her. Throughout the entire confrontation, she had not spoken a word nor budged an inched, only she watched. Now, she was standing on the ground, and beginning to wander over to Ned. Her fingers traced against the wall she walked beside, but her eyes did not leave the Mayor. They were wide and curious now, and for once, Ned did not see her eyes on his daughters' faces, but instead, his daughters' eyes along_ her_ face. Just a foot in front of him, she had stopped, and her expression was of wonder and curiosity. Her eyes spoke as if wanting and wishing for Ned to say those words again. Instead, Ned just stared at her, unsure. Through her silence, though, and all those years he had spent with the same silence that Jojo portrayed, he was able to understand.

Through her white eyes, it was as if she was speaking, 'Can you really do all that for me?'

Ned watched her for a moment, taking in her actions, thinking of a proper response. _Actions speak louder then words_, Ned thought to himself and he held out his hand for her to take. For once, he didn't see a hopeless diseased little Who, but instead a young girl with all the potential in the world. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, and Ned noticed this. He merely smiled reassuringly, but did not speak. Again, Melody watched his hand, but, after another pause to reflect upon his action, she had taken his hand and stood as his side, glancing back to Dr. Kazoo and Deli.

Watching this little sight unfold before him, something in Dr. Kazoo had shattered. His body tensed as he watched two, but his eyes were mostly focused upon Melody. He didn't understand why…Why she had so easily gone to Ned, without even a glance to himself. The thought made his stomach twist in knots, and he had the urge to throw up now. He was practically sick to his stomach at this point. He clutched a chair beside Mr. Deli's desk, clutching it hard in a sense of restraining himself from thrashing Ned to pieces this instant.

With a growl, he spoke from across the room, having to keep his distance from Ned, otherwise, he would probably have taken off his head right now, "Alright…Fine…Apparently, even Melody's going to side against me even if I _know what's best for her… _but, even if everyone's siding against me on this, let me tell you this Mr. Mayor – "

He had now released the chair and had marched across the room to Ned. His teeth were gritted and his face had gone a shade of red from the anger now engulfed him. Swiftly, he pulled Ned up by his tie, leaving him bewildered and a bit shocked.

" – Do you have any idea what you're going to be dealing with? This girl not only has progressive blindness, but along with it - tuberculosis, leukemia, severe insomnia and to top it all off – a friggin tumor in her throat! I don't care if you're Mayor or not! If you screw up _once _I'm coming after your ass!"

"Dr. Kazoo!!" shouted Mr. Deli now. He stormed over to the two, his expression one of severe disapproval. Hesitantly, Kazoo turned to look at Deli, having to restrain himself from continuing on with hassling Ned, as he listened to his boss, Mr. Deli, _"…Put – the Mayor – down…"_

It had taken all Kazoo had to fall back and obediently listen to Mr. Deli. He grumbled, annoyed, and he turned their back to them with his fists clutched at his sides.

"Forgive him, Mr. Mayor. He's been having a stressful day," Mr. Deli apologized.

Ned held a flustered expression. He was shaking with nervousness at the moment, and he could not control this. Hesitantly, he pried his vision away from Kazoo and took a wavering breath, "I-It's fine, really, I sware."

Mr. Deli briefly glanced to Kazoo, as if to check if he would indeed keep himself his check. He had sighed and glanced back to Ned, motioning for the doorway, "Then I suggest we get the paperwork started."

"Er…R-right, paperwork, yeah," Ned had nodded as he held a shaky grip on Melody's hand still. From the corner his eye, he had watched Kazoo. He too was shaking, but from what Ned had inferred, it was not from fear. No, the tremors that took hold of Kazoo's body were of rage and frustration. That was obvious. Even as Ned had left the room, he could not keep his eyes off Kazoo. Over his shoulder, he was glaring at Ned, one that would surely dispose of him if looks could kill. Ned recoiled a bit and his hand had tightened on Melody's hand, as if he were the child. With that, he departed to take care of the paperwork he had been told of, but even through this, he could not get the image of the cold eyes of Dr. Kazoo that pierced through him with beastly fury.

--****

And that's it folks. And yes - I wouldn't want to upset Dr. Kazoo... o.O I felt a little devilish when writing for him... ah well. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Um...Not much to say right now. XD Erm...enjoy?**

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Sally placed the last of the plates along the table, every now and then glancing back and forth from the front door and back to all her children who now lined up to get into their seats for dinner. They each spoke vividly to one another with grins wide on their faces as they spoke of their day. Ever since they were able to speak with their father this morning, they had all been much happier then usual. Just knowing that their Daddy was alright, made them happy. Sally took her seat at the dinner table, throwing glances at the door again; waiting for her husband to enter with their new daughter. For a moment, she felt guilty. Not only for not knowing what she looks like, but also due to the fact her children had yet to learn about their new addition. She sighed; she and they would learn soon enough.

"Mommy," spoke one of her daughters, who was seated a few seats away from her.

Sally leaned over, smiling welcoming, "Yes, Polly?"

"Is Daddy coming home soon?" she spoke, pouting obviously.

Following her was a chorus of questions that all followed same substance as Polly's previous questions. Each of her daughters had spoke in a worried tone about their dear Father.

"Is he wunning late?"  
"Yeah, is Dad coming home, tonight?"  
"Where's Daddy?"

Sally wasn't sure how to respond all the girls. All she could do for this moment was stand and clap her hands to grab their attention, "Alright, settle down!"

They had gone quiet now at their Mother's words, and they cowered back into their seats, messing with the food on their plate. Sally sighed and slumped back into her seat. She took a sip of her water to cool herself down. Setting the cup back down, she glanced up to all 194 eyes. Across from her, she had noticed Jojo. He stared back at her with his black eyes, and slumped back in his seat before finishing off a piece of pork in his mouth. Still, he didn't speak, knowing that Sally would soon continue on and explain the matter when she pleased.

Sally did just as Jojo predicted, "Daddy's just running a little late, today… He had an important errand to run after work."

"Ewwand?" repeated Heady; she sat just beside Sally, with her sippy cup in hand.

Watching her youngest daughter, she had smiled, "Yes, errand. Girls," she began, then glanced to her son and continued, "Jojo...Daddy's bringing someone important with him, tonight."

"Someone important?"  
"Who?"  
"Yeah, Mom – who?"

Sally took a breath, she wasn't sure what to say. She barely knew the girl, and she wasn't sure if she could put her into correct terms. Taking a breath, she had began to speak, "Well, she's – "

The door opened wide with a creak, and all attention was aimed toward it.

"Daddy!"  
"Dad, you're home!"  
"Hey, Daddy!"

And sure enough, there was Ned. A number of the girls had bounded from their seats and gone over to their Father to greet him, properly. Ned had grinned; he seemed in a much happier mood then the previous evening. He leaned down to them, opening his arms wide for them, and a number of the girls had pounced onto him with a large hug. They giggled, happily, and Ned grinned. He always enjoyed coming home to see his little girls. He then glanced behind him, making sure of something and he stood. He stepped back from his daughters and backed up a bit to pull forward Melody, gently by the hand. She seemed timid and frightened, she even shook a bit as she glanced around to the number of Whos around her.

"Girls, this is Melody," Ned spoke, gently setting a hand on each of Melody's shoulders now as she stood in front of him meekly.

"Meelody?" questioned one of the girls in a sing song tone.

Ned had nodded, and knelt back down now so that he was closer to each of their levels, "She's your new sister."

"Sister?" spoke another.  
"We got another sister?"

Ned had laughed gently and glanced to Sally now, who now came through the crowd of girls to reach Melody and Ned, "You haven't told them yet, have you?"

Sally laughed gently, and then shrugged with a smile visible on her lips, "I haven't gotten around to it, yet."

"Well, now's as good a time as any," Ned grinned and stood again. He motioned toward Melody now as he looked to Sally, "Sally, this is Melody, the girl I told you about."

Sally knelt down to Melody's level and smiled sincerely to her, "Nice to meet you. I think you'll fit in just fine here. You don't have to look so nervous."

Nonetheless, Melody could not help it. She was out of 'box' now, and she wasn't quite sure what to do. All eyes were on her, and, frankly, it was frightening her a bit. She took a breath to steady herself and nodded to her new Mother. She fidgeted in her spot now, but apparently, the rest of her 'sisters' were beginning to grasp the concept, and grins spread one by one along their faces. They each trotted over to her now, surrounding her at every corner.

"Hiya, I'm Hogey!"  
"I'm Hooley!"  
"I'm Hilda!"  
"Polly!"  
"Sue!"

And so and so forth; despite the fact there were ninety-six names to be called out, they managed to all be presented in less than five minutes. This stunt, to Melody, was an apparent accomplishment, and she stared in awe to all of them. _Ninety-six sisters, _she thought and she could not get over the undeniable contrast from was used to. Just this morning, she was an orphan, without a family and without a hope in life. Now, here she was with a father and mother, younger sisters, older sisters… The thought made her want to smile, but she was in too much of shock at this point to really comprehend this fact.

"Hey, J-Dawg!" spoke Ned now, grinning widely as he then had his eyes set on his son. He had not moved from the table, but had merely been continuing his dinner. At the sound of his Father's voice, he glanced to him and arched an eyebrow, "Aren't you gonna say 'Yo' to your new sis?"

Jojo glanced to him and then he met eyes with Melody. With a sigh, he flung himself from the table and wandered through the crowd of his sisters, until he had reached Melody. He looked to her. She was taller, but not by much. Still, he held out a hand and spoke simply to her, "Jojo."

Melody watched the hand, unsure. It held the same structure of his father's hand, she noticed, the way it was held, and how the fingers stretched apart as he offered it. She stared at it for a moment, but she soon noticed his impatience as she left him there with his hand open to her. So, with that, she had taken his hand and interlaced her fingers with it.

And she shook hands with her new older brother.

**--**

And so, Melody has been adopted. 8D


	8. Chapter 8

**Hazah! 8D So we reach Ch. 8... Probably one of the more significant chapters in the whole story. x3**

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Up on the roof, the very same roof  
There were two young Who females playing 'aloof'.  
They watched from outside  
watching, watching with some sort of pride.  
They spied on the Mayor  
Along with his wife  
And his 97 kids; they were so very enticed.

One of the women, she leaned over the side  
Over the edge of the roof, something she could abide.  
Her long golden hair fell at the edge of her face  
It was blonde and so silky, almost like lace.  
Her Who fur was light  
And a bright creamy purple.  
But this wasn't the best part  
No, not quite yet  
Nor were her eyes that were like golden cassettes.  
The best part, I would bet  
Was the form of her body  
It was slender and sleek, and so very alluring  
- How most men, for her, would quit a year of world touring –

Then there was her sister  
-She was the younger-  
She wasn't so bitter. No, not in the least  
But she did hold something that her sister had too  
Her form and her beauty, yes – that was true.  
Instead of blonde hair, it was a wavy bright pink  
And as for her fur, it was a caramel color,  
That could be found in a blink.  
Her eyes were dark brown, almost matching her fur  
But she was a sight that did not need a cure.

The two watched with interest  
But, it wasn't just this; yes, I insist.  
They were waiting for someone,  
Yes, someone else, too.  
And this someone else too…

Was Dr. Kazoo.

000

"Are they gone, yet?" pouted the younger of the two. She fidgeted with her black sunglasses at the end of her nose, despite the fact that it was already late evening. She swung back and forth at the edge of the gutters, gentle thwacking the heels of her feet back and forth against the concrete. Her pink hair was held high in a pony tail that swerved and fell into curls behind her. She yawned, rather loudly, and a piercing was visible on her tongue. As this occurred, however, she was quickly interrupted by her older sister of twenty-one.

"_Shhhh!!" _

The younger girl of nineteen, pouted again, and she repositioned herself in her spot, so that her legs were folded underneath her, "Ya don't havta be so mean about it, Ria…"

"I'm not being 'mean' about it, Bella," argued the older, Ria. She lifted her head and repositioned her own matching sunglasses at the edge of her nose, "You just have to be quiet…They're in the room right below us and we can't afford to get caught."

"Pfft," remarked Bella and she stuck out her lower lip, and lied back against the cement of the roof, "It's not like they're paying attention. There's a hundred of them all together in one room. They're too distracted right now to really notice – I think we're safe."

Ria had sighed. She was becoming a bit frustrated now, but she pulled away from the edge of the roof, and now stood. There was nothing she could do about her younger sister, and she knew that. Yet, something else was on her mind at the moment, and she could not pry it away. At the sight of the new addition to the Mayor's family, her stomach had twisted in knots and she hated it. She hated every aspect of it. She groaned now and put a finger to her temple, trying to think through something in her head, until she was interrupted by footsteps. They were footsteps she was well familiar to, but they belonged to neither she nor Bella. Still, she glanced in their direction.

At the sight of the person, the person who owned the sound of these footsteps, she crossed her arms, "So you decided to show, Dr. Kazoo?"

Kazoo glanced up, and his face was cold as he watched Ria. There was a silence from him as he walked closer to the two girls. As he strolled toward them, he disregarded the white doctor's coat he wore at work. While this occurred, Bella had chunked him a black hoodie. He didn't say a word, but merely threw it onto his torso. It hung from his body in a baggy manner, but still fit him decently nonetheless. He ruffled his blonde hair a bit so that it now hung loose around his face. Then, for his final touch, he pulled something from the pocket of his hoodie, and pulled it close to his face. He was silent as he placed a silver piercing through his lip. Once he had finished, however, he returned his glance to Ria and it had gone cold and hollow again.

"You can drop the 'z', Ria…We're alone, now," Kazoo spoke, and he took a breath, glancing down to the window they stood over, "It's 'Ka'oo', now."

"Fine - Ka'oo," Ria spoke, and she sat back down at the edge of the gutter again, and looked back down to the scene of Ned and his family now gathering for an official dinner, "…but, Kazoo or Ka'oo… you still screwed up today."

Ka'oo tensed now, and he stuffed his hands in the pocket of his hoodie, "You think I didn't try…? I almost ripped that guys head off – I sent you the surveillance video of it all. You _get _what happened."

Ria didn't make a noticeable response, but only kept her eyes set on the window, "…Yes, I do 'get what happened'…but I'm still disappointed in you, Ka'oo."

Ka'oo tensed a bit as he said this and he now glanced up to the sky, having to pull himself away from the view of the window, "Yeah – I'm disappointed in myself, too."

"I don't get it."

Now all eyes were on Bella.

She sat there with a puzzled expression on her face, looking up to Ka'oo and Ria from her position on the roof, "Why do we have to hide all this from Melody? She doesn't even know we exist…"

As she said this, Bella's expression had fallen a bit and she traced a circle on the roof.

"We've told you this before, Bells…" and Ria sighed, now moving her body closer to her sisters, "If Melody learns that – that we're her family, in the condition she's in right now, she might become even more unstable than she already is. Telling her who we are might trigger something fatal. I mean…lets it put it this way. If we were to just walk in and say 'Hiya, we're your older siblings that you don't remember', how do you think that'll play off…?"

Bella sighed and rubbed her eyes, "I don't like this."

"-Who does? But that's life…All we can afford to do is watch her," murmured Ka'oo now, as he glanced to both his younger sisters, and his expression fell, "Now we can't even do that."

Ka'oo kicked the edge of the gutter now, a piece that jutted upward and stuck in perfect positioning for him to reach it, "Damn Mayor…_Who the hell does he think he is_?"

"Oh, I dunno," began Ria, sarcastically, "Maybe he was _trying _to be a decent guy and do Melody a favor. Still, all this drama could've been avoided if you just kept Melody with you during that entire visit…"

"That wasn't my fault," snarled Ka'oo, and he swiftly turned his body so that he was looming over his younger sibling, "Melody was no where near where he was supposed to be. _He _just happened to come walking into _her, _which, might I add, left a nasty little bruise on her leg."

"Whatever," Ria sighed. She had no more to say to her older brother, but she merely watched Melody again, only sneaking small glances as she hid herself along the roof. Her expression softened for a moment, and they were all silent, until the scent of smoke had filled the air. Ria grimaced, she hated that smell. The ashy gray stained her senses, and her stomach twisted. She then glanced to the direction where it had come from. Ka'oo stood there with a cigarette in hand, with a hollow expression on his face.

"You realize that stuff can kill you, right?" Ria responded, carefully eyeing the cigarette, and she arched an eyebrow as she watched Ka'oo.

She had barely gotten a response from Ka'oo, but it was enough for her. He lifted his head, and took the cigarette from his lips and observed it, analyzed it. The smoke danced from the tip, and swiveled up into the sky. Ka'oo only looked to Ria from the corners of his eye, but he sighed and whispered, sticking the cigarette back into his mouth, "…What's it matter? To her, I'm already dead."

000

The smell of bacon and eggs wafted through the air that early morning the following day. The scent was thick as it wandered through the McDodd household. Since five o'clock, Melody could detect the sweet smell. She had been up since three this morning, only managing two hours sleep – better then what she normally could accomplish. It was odd how this was possible, though. It was a new home, a new bedroom she had slept in, and yet she could manage sleep here better than at the orphanage she grew up at.

She wandered through the winding hallways, careful to keep the tips of her fingers skimming the wall to keep track of her location. This had been one dilemma of hers all morning… Due to immense capacity of the home and the fact that she was completely unfamiliar with how it was set up, she had been lost about the corridors throughout this early day. She sighed. She had practically lost hope of ever finding even her own bedroom again, at least until she smelled this sweet scent of breakfast foods…

Sally stood in the kitchen, doing her own usual morning commute. It always took quite some decent time to prepare for ninety-nine (well, now one hundred) family members. Still, it was something that she cherished and took her time with every morning starting five o'clock. As she set the last plate along the table, she smiled proudly, satisfied with herself, she lifted her chin, and crossed her arms, "Done."

Upon the table, there was not only bacon and eggs, but a luxury of several other foods spread upon the winding table. Yes, not only bacon and eggs, but ham, sausage, buttered toast, French toast, blueberry muffins, banana nut muffins, waffles, pancakes – the list went on. It was in this sweet aroma of wondrous foods, that Sally had almost not noticed the Who that had wandered in, the newest of her daughters.

Melody stood there, astounded by all the glorious smells of the food. Her eyes were wide and the warm scent filled her nostrils. For a moment, it seemed that her eyes seemed to glisten in satisfaction.

"Oh – Melody," Sally spoke, blinking as she did not quite expect to see her up. Usually, her own daughters did not awaken until they were called for breakfast. Yet, here was Melody, already at the table, astounded by the foods. She then smiled uneasily, "Um…Good Morning, Melody."

Melody only glanced up to her new Mother, and tilted her head. She hadn't recalled the last time she had been given a 'Good Morning'. Unsure, she merely nodded to her as a way to say 'hello'. Then, her white eyes trailed to the clock on the wall. She squinted her eyes, not being able to make out the numbers upon it. She then looked to Sally, who seemed confused, and then back to the clock, pointing to it as if to ask what time it was.

Sally followed her eyes to the clock, and she read it clearly, "Its five minutes to seven…and speaking of time, how long have you been up?"

Melody looked back to Sally, and she seemed to be thinking this over for a moment, until she had reached an appropriate number in her head. She lifted her hand and held up three fingers for Sally to see.

Blinking again, Sally stared at her, "Three…hours?"

There was only a nod on Melody's part as she now walked around the edge of the winding table.

Sally thought this over for a moment, until she had recalled what her husband had told her. She had been completely informed of Melody's illnesses the previous night and she began to go through each one in her head, until she reached the one suitable, "Oh, right – it's called 'severe insomnia', isn't it?"

Melody only glanced up to Sally for a moment, but it was enough, because she had managed to get an immediate nod, as well as swing herself into one of the chairs, watching the food, but did not touch it.

Sally was running out of things to say. What more could you really say to someone like Melody? Was there anything you could say that could not be brought back to the seriousness of her condition? Sally thought not. Still, she spoke to her, not wanting to give up on something as basic as chit-chat, "Do you think you can wake your sisters up?"

Melody thought for a moment, setting her thin finger along her chin, until she jumped out of her chair with a nod to Sally. She didn't say anything, but only did a bow of her head and darted it off, in an assumption that she could somehow find her back to her bedroom. It was a long shot… but she could at least try. As she could feel the heat of Sally's vision against the back of her neck, she had darted from the room, ready to please.

Sally had smiled as she watched this, setting down her forty-first set of silverware. She leaned down a rested her head, just for one moment, in the palm of her hand, watching the newest of their family leave and eventually vanish from her view. Still, Sally smiled. _No, Melody wasn't such a bad girl, after all…_

**--**

**And thus we reach the end of Ch. 8... X3 Dum dum dum... Hopefully, this get's some minds whirring and answers some questions too. Also, I'd like to thank EVERYONE who's reviewed, alerted, and faved this story! It's very, very important to me! 8D And apparantly I've become a 'muse', too, according to one of my reviewers. Lawls. I'd like to say I'm utterly flattered. I'm not sure if I deserve that title. XD But still... I'm flattered, nonetheless!**


	9. Chapter 9

**This was actually one of my favorite chapters to write... 8D Hope you enjoy.**

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Jojo wandered down the corridor, and he yawned. What time was it anyway? Jojo was wondering… Perhaps seven by now, at least. He yawned again, opening his mouth wide, but he didn't bother to hide it; teeth sparkling as his lips curled back. As he regained a relatively slumped stature, he had run his set of fingers and a thumb through his mess of black hair. His arms hung at his side, as he followed the scent of his Mother's famous breakfast. The halls were empty, only the sight of random family paintings scattered along the edges of the crisp walls. Well, obviously, the girls weren't up yet. Maybe he could manage to get to the kitchen peacefully, today. The words 'fat chance' couldn't help but go through his mind – since when was anything peaceful around here?

As he considered this thought, he raised his eyebrows at the sudden resonance of footsteps. They were delicate footsteps, trying to find their way through the hallway. From the sound of them, Jojo was attempting to decipher whom they belonged to. Perhaps his father? No, the sound was far too small and delicate. Then maybe his mother? No, no… they sounded too unsure. And these footsteps certainly could not belong to one of his sisters – they were known for their tiny clumsy steps as they usually made their way about their house. He lifted his head, and was curious to see who it was that he was to face this morning.

Alright, so maybe it _was_ one of his sisters.

There was Melody, attempting to make her way down the hallway. She was glancing around frequently, Jojo noticed, implying the fact that she was indeed lost. He watched her, interested now to what she was doing, exactly. He watched as she attempted to make her way down the corridor, her hands clutched to the lining of the wall. She'd glance around, squinting her eyes, despite the fact all she could see were blurs.

Jojo sighed, _this was pathetic._ He wasn't sure how much longer he could just watch this, without her even realizing his existence. He seemed to debate some matter in his head now, after managing another yawn, until he came to a conclusion. He lifted his foot and took his steps toward her. He was probably only a foot away now, and he had a feeling that she realized that he was there now. She had lifted her head and stared straight at him, with her big white eyes.

He looked at her - how was he supposed to communicate? Neither of them had a way with words, but maybe he could figure it out. He thought deeply for a moment, until he figured he'd start out with the basics. He'd lead her back to her bedroom and take it from there. He sighed again, and reached out for her wrist. She tensed and recoiled a bit, not expecting the sudden grasp of fuzzy fingers along her. She was confused and she looked up to him, puzzled.

Jojo didn't say anything; only begin to tug her in the right direction. She was hesitant at first, but something eased her. Neither of them spoke, but both of them understood somehow. Melody stared at the ground, allowing her older brother to lead her with sureness. She stayed behind him, staring at the ground, and closing her eyes now. There was no point in trying to look anymore, even if she wanted to; she wasn't the one that was leading the way anymore. Somehow, through it, she was disappointed. She had believed she could manage to do such an easy task as get back to her room to wake up her sisters, but she couldn't even do that.

Stopping, Jojo had reached the appropriate room. He stepped to the side and allowed for Melody to enter. He watched her intently, and waited for what she was going to do next.

Melody had lifted her head now, and she clutched onto the doorframe, before poking her head inside. So, how was she going to go about this? How was she going to wake up 96 of her siblings? She took a breath – perhaps starting with turning on the light…

One of her creamy-colored fingers reached for the light switch, having to feel her way for the device that jutted from the wall, until she reached it. The lights went ablaze and the room went alit. Melody had smiled now as the colors changed from dull to bright. Perhaps they were all just blurs, but she could still manage to decipher the vibrant colors at least. If she could still keep that for some time, she'd be all right.

As the brilliant lights beamed along the room, the 96 girls began to stir, and Jojo began to understand what Melody was up to. She was trying to wake them all up. Yup, this wasn't going to be a peaceful morning after all. Still, just turning on the light wouldn't do much. He watched as most of his younger sister's pulled the cover over their heads, groaning. Jojo thought of this predicament, and he figured he might as well lend a hand in this situation. He now darted forward into the room, feeling Melody's confused gaze on the back of his neck. Still, he had continued forward until he reached the immensely tall window on the opposite side of the room. He glanced up to it. The rope that hung from the side - the same one that would pull the curtains aside – was a decent three feet higher than he was.

This wouldn't be a problem, at least not for Jojo.

He pulled the top sheet off one of his sister's bed, ignoring the groans of annoyance from the Who girl that had been underneath it. He slung the sheet over the side of one of the top bunks of the bed, and secured it there. With that, he hoisted his small body up, using the edges of the bunks as a base, showing the imitation as if he were rock climbing. When he reached the appropriate height, he secured himself a bit better with the twisted sheet, and pressed his feet firm against the side of the bunk bed, eyeing the rope that hung on the window. He watched it, firmly, as if they were in some sort of staring contest. Then he jumped toward it, completely disregarding the sheet he used to haul himself up in the first place. As he pounced, he stretched out his arms before him, while in midair, until he clasped his fingers just above the tassel of the rope. His weight was just enough to pull it, as well as himself, down so that his feet now touched the ground. In return, the curtains swung open, and light poured into the entire room.

Practically in unison, the 96 girls groaned in detest. On top of the light from the lamps and the ceiling, now there were the natural rays of the warm sun leaking through the immensely huge window on their wall. One by one, they began to poke their heads out from under their blankets and pillows, and they came to look at Jojo, with tired annoyed expressions.

"Jooojooo…"  
"We were sleeping...!"  
"Yeah, sweepin!"

Jojo rolled his eyes and only glanced up to them with a firm tone and pointed toward the doorway. They began to understand as they realized the smell of delicious food that reached them even from here. Then, just as they had awoken, grins began to spread along their lips one by one.

"Ooh! Mommy's got bweakfast!"  
"I want bacon and eggs!"  
"I want a banana muffin!"

Then in a stampede of a little Who girls, they all jumped out of their beds, and sped for the door, before Melody could really process what had just occurred. She could only hear the footsteps quite clearly, but for a moment she still didn't understand, until the last moment, when she had quickly pulled herself away from the mass of girls, about two seconds before they began to race through the door with giggles and laughs. It wasn't quite enough time though, because somehow, someone's shoulder –she wasn't sure who's - had accidentally brushed along Melody, and she tumbled back on the floor. She sat there, puzzled, and looked up to her sister's as they continued past her, looking forward to give their parents their morning 'hello'.

It was probably a decent two or so minutes before the final McDodd daughter had left the room, finally followed by Jojo, who had been smart enough to stand aside until all were gone, well, except for Melody. She sat on the floor in the hallway, confused as she watched her sisters run down the corridor to reach the kitchen. She was entranced for a moment, still processing all the data in her head as if she were a computer, until she heard Jojo's footsteps approach her. She had only lifted her head to glance up to him for a moment, before he had lifted her back on her feet, set her properly on the floor, and then released her again.

After this, Melody just stared at him, but he did not stare back, but turn away from her to follow his sister's toward the kitchen. He didn't wait for Melody; only go forward without a glance back.

Somehow, Melody felt a little disappointed, but she wasn't sure why. She took a breath, and stumbled forward. She bit her lip, and for a moment, she could feel Jojo's gaze as he did this time glance back after hearing the small 'thump'. He continued to watch her until she brought herself up again. Then he looked away and continued onward, knowing that she would follow suit.

000

In a rhythmic movement, the chairs swung about the winding table, with all the Mayor's daughters within them, grinning as they took their bits of breakfast, and conversed with one another. For Melody, it was astounding. She did not recall ever having a breakfast quite like this. Usually, she'd just grab a muffin from the cabinet and be on her merry little way. Apparently, it was not quite like that, here in the McDodd home. Melody watched with amazement as the chairs moved every few seconds – even if they were just vibrant blurs. She was a like a small kitten, just getting to see the world for the first time, except, this 'world' was revolving chairs. She stared for a moment; they were only blurs, but she could still figure it all out, or at least attempt to. She took a breath, and waited till she heard the small creaking of a chair that swung around. She didn't move; only listen as it swung around. Nonetheless, she approached the table, figuring she could at least take a chance of getting an empty chair.

So, she took a breath and stepped forward, despite the fact she didn't have much of an idea of where she was going – everything being colorful blobs. This wasn't that bright of an idea, however. She braced herself, knowing that there was only about a twenty-five percent chance that she'd actually get in a chair, and a seventy-five percent chance of getting struck by one, instead. Simply put, her statistics had been correct. It always took her a few seconds to understand things, but there was not much to understand – she got thwacked by a spinning chair and fell back on the floor, in some sort of confused daze. She sat there for a moment, blinking, then shook her head as she began to lift herself. Melody found, however, she was not the only one pulling her own body back on its. She glanced up, to see the Mayor – well…her father, now.

"Ah! Morning, Melody," grinned Ned. He seemed happier today, and back in the swing of things. He lifted her up by the waist, and had gone to place her in one of the moving chairs, "You got to be more careful than that, alright?"

Melody tilted her head, her eyes wide and fascinated as usual, but she was greeted back by a large grin spread along the Mayor's lips, as he set her into one of the seats. With that, she had watched him depart to go take his own place at the end of the long swerving table. Melody arched an eyebrow, confused. She noticed he was messing with the something sitting on the edge of the table, not being able to make it out. She could vaguely make out his own structure, his fur a mass of blurry shades of brown. Heck, she couldn't even decipher his face or her mother's, or anyone else on that end of the table – only the colors they were made up of. So, if this was the case, how in the world was she able to figure out what Ned was messing with?

"Hey, Melody! Whatcha looking at?"

Melody blinked as she heard this, and she glanced to one of her sister's. She held peach colored fur, and dark pink hair done up in a high curly ponytail. Melody attempted to remember the name, until she came up with one: 'Holly'. Next, Melody had began thinking of some sort of response. She glanced from Holly then back to Ned at the end of the table with his wife, then pointed to him, curious of what he was doing.

Holly glanced to the direction Melody was referring to. She leaned over the table, and then moved back into her seat just before her seat moved again, "Oh, that's easy! Daddy's just setting the clock back to twelve seconds, again!"

Arching an eyebrow, confused, Melody had just stared at her sister, showing that she wanted to know what she meant.

"That's right, I forgot – you haven't had breakfast here before, huh?" Holly responded, her smile widening a bit as the chair moved again, just as she took a sip of milk, "Well, Daddy's very, very busy and there's a lot of us here, but 'cause he still wants time with each of us, he's made sure that happens. So, we each get twelve seconds with him _eeeevery_ morning!"

Nope, this was definitely not like any of the other breakfasts she normally had. So, apparently, that thing that Ned was messing with was a clock. Now that she paid closer attention, she could see, every twelve seconds, another child of his would be brought up and he'd begin to speak with them. Alright, so this was a bit of a dilemma… What could Melody possibly say? She never spoke to begin with, and if she did… she raised her fingers up to her throat where her tumor lay, and she bit her lip. No, she couldn't speak. She'd just have to find some other way to get through these twelve seconds. She glanced in front of her, and she counted the blurry blobs in front of her. There were a total of 29 'blobs' before her – the bell rang – alright, 28…

That gave her – she multiplied in her head – 336 seconds, or so. That would be – she calculated in her head, again – five or six minutes. She took a breath, only a few minutes before she came up with something. She thought in her head, and thought very deeply, even tapping her temple once or twice. Still nothing… Melody groaned, and grabbed a piece of toast before her chair swung around again. The odd jerking sensation, as the chairs would move would throw her off at first, now, as the seconds began to tick; she was becoming more accustomed to them. She took a breath and slumped back against the head of the chair, as she nibbled on this piece of toast, uneasiness rising within her.

Ned had continued with each of his usual daughters, enjoying the little time he had with each of them as always. How could he not love it? This was his family, and nothing was more important in this moment of time. He patted Heady on the head, and sent her off just as the bell rang. Then it was onto Hilda, than Hooley, and Patty, and Sue, then to Hogey and Holly. He smiled. He enjoyed it all. Still, he was curious to how one particular meeting would go this morning. It would be the first of, hopefully, many. He wasn't sure how to begin though… He knew very well that she would not respond or speak. This would be just a 'little' difficult. He watched as Hogey and Holley swung around the table with smiles wide on their lips. The clock winded back to twelve and Ned took a deep breath, knowing who was next.

On the other end, there sat Melody now. She looked up to him with the same white eyes as small strands trailed along her creamy cheeks. Was she nervous? Ned had to wonder. The way she slumped back in her seat, almost timidly as she looked up to him. Almost the way Jojo did way back when, slinking down practically all the way in his seat so almost wasn't seen above the table. Ned took a breath. He would have spoken first, if it wasn't Sally who had said something, obviously noticing Melody's timid behavior.

"Oh, honey, don't look so stressed," she laughed gently, the laugh that Ned and her children always enjoyed, "It's alright, really. I promise."

Melody watched her new mother, considering her words deeply. Faintly, she had nodded and sat up in her chair. Glancing to the clock, she was down to nine seconds, but it felt as if it had been much longer already. Still, she took a deep and courageous breath and she looked to Ned, waiting for him to say something.

Ned now grinned, reassuringly to her, his own confidence boosted as well, "Don't be so nervous all the time, alright? I think you'll fit in juuust fine here, okay? You're part of this family now, and we're going to make sure it works out."

She was down to only three more seconds. Melody couldn't think of what to do. She wanted to smile, to let him know that she understood, but she couldn't. She just stared at him for a moment, wondering if he meant what he had said or if it'll all be just as the same as the Orphanage, with her stuck in a corner. Very faintly, almost unnoticeably, she had nodded.

She actually nodded, she actually understood. Ned was smiling now. Maybe she didn't smile, but she didn't smile at the Orphanage either. At least he managed to speak to her, and at least she managed to communicate in one way or another. Now to have her learn to speak in one or two word statements, rather than silence… _All in due time, Ned, all in due time…_

The bell rang, and Melody in her seat, the last of that morning, had swung around the edge of the table, and concluded Ned's morning routine. Ned stood with a grin, now taking his plate. From the corner of his eye, he had watched Jojo stand from his seat.

Jojo finished off a glass of orange juice in his hand and set it back down on the table before departing it completely. He glanced to his parents, and simply, he stated with ultimate ease, pointing to the doorway, "Observatory."

His parents glanced to him, and nodded with smiles.

"See ya, Jo!" Ned had grinned.  
"Enjoy yourself; get back in time for lunch later."

Jojo had nodded, acknowledging their words, but had then gone to the door. He had not thought much of it, only opening it like he always would without a care, but in front of that door, as he opened it up, was someone he did not know nor expected to see. There in front of the door, stood a female Who of twenty one, with blonde hair and bright purple fur…

--****

Haha... Hopefully you can remember from Ch. 7 who had blonde hair and purple fur... ;3


	10. Chapter 10

**Yeahs! Ch. 10!! 8D**

--

He just stared for a moment, puzzled. His eyebrows were arched and furrowed with bewilderment. Jojo's eyes trailed over the woman, attempting to figure out who she was. She stood, with a wide grin on her lips, with her long blonde hair put up in pigtails that were held high up on her head. She seemed freakishly and rather frightfully perky/happy. Jojo was interrupted in his analysis, however, by Ned's voice trotting up behind him.

"Hey, Jojo, who's at the do…oor…." Ned trailed off, looking at the woman before him. He seemed to be just as confused as Jojo, if not more.

The woman giggled in a surprisingly high giggle, and she swung back and forth on her heels, with her hands interlaced behind her back, "Hiya! I'm your replacement babysitter. Peggy had gotten reeaal sick, so she wanted me to come in her place, mm-kay?"

Both father and son gave her an unsure look. They both knew the name 'Peggy'; they had for the past month or so. On and off for the past year, Sally had found it in the best interest of everyone if she had a little more help with their ninety-seven kids, as Ned's job become more pressing and required more work with each passing week. He practically came home and passed out just after dinner nearly every day. They probably had at least ten different 'nannies' in this year (it was on rare occasion for someone to stay more then a month or even week after watching over all of their children) Peggy had simply been the latest of them all. It was not that it was surprising to see someone different on their doorstep this morning, but more surprising that they had not been informed of it. Peggy was the type of girl that made both Ned and Sally aware of every tiny detail of their daughters, ranging from the tiniest of cuts to the correct pronunciation of a new word. Not only that, but Peggy would always make sure that the Mayor and his wife knew if she would be even ten seconds late. So, it was simply strange and out of character for her to call a replacement without even so much as a call to them, the McDodd household.

"But, um, what's your name, again?" Ned questioned, watching the female with puzzlement still bristling his fur.

She merely giggled in that same high-tuned voice. Jojo thought of possibly finding a tuner knob, similar to a radio, just to turn down the frequency. She held out her hand to Ned, grinning ever so widely, "Rida! Rida Velvita!"

Ned, uneasily, took her hand to shake it. He looked to her, unsure, and spoke her name in a detached voice, "Vel…vit…a?"

"Yup! Velvita!" that grin would not leave her face, nor would the freaky happiness that Jojo noticed before.

"Well, um…Rida," the Mayor spoke, releasing her hand to look at her again, taking in her appearance, seeing if maybe he had seen her somewhere before. He came up blank, "Peggy never told us that she – "

The phone burst to life and rings echoed through the kitchen. The girls had continued on with their breakfast, relatively oblivious to the situation. Jojo, however, had turned to eye the phone curiously as it rang; continuing to watch even as his mother picked up the phone. Sally stood there a few moments, her voice soft against the mouthpiece, but Jojo could somehow decipher her words despite the fact he could not hear the voice on the opposite end. It was still enough, at least for him, to learn what the conversation consisted of.

"Yes, hello? Oh, Peggy, did you - ? You did? She just showed up. Alright. Yeah, I hope you feel better. Get some sleep. Yes, I'll tell them. Bye, Peggy," Sally lifted her head to look at Ned. She shrugged, but nodded, nodded nonetheless, ensuring that Rida had been checked off. She then glanced back to the swerving table, leaning up slightly in order to get a decent glance of all 96 of her girls.

"Girls, that was Peggy. She says 'Hi'," Sally spoke coolly with a smile to her children.

"But why's she sayin' 'Hi'?" spoke Hogey.  
"She's still coming, like always, right?" spoke Hilda, who sat just opposite of Hogey.

"Sorry, Girls," spoke Sally, with an apologetic smile to them all, "Peggy's a bit…under the weather. She sent someone else to keep you company today, though."

"But I want Peggy…" pouted the younger of the girls, who sat not but a foot or so away from Sally.

Sally only smiled – it was kind as it always was with her children. She took only a step closer to the daughter that spoke last and lifted her into her warm arms. Her fur ran up against the girl, soft and gently, "It'll be alright, don't you worry, and besides, you'll have _two_ new people to play with today – Melody and um…"

"Rida," spoke the replacement babysitter, ending Sally's statement for her.

Nonetheless, Sally had continued on, anyway, "Right, Rida."

"Wida?" repeated the small girl.

Sally smiled and put her nose to her daughter's, giving the tiny Who girl restful Eskimo kisses, "Yes – Rida."

After reassuring this to her, she placed her back into her seat and glanced to her husband, "Er…Ned. It's already eight o'clock."

Ned blinked, tilting his head. He didn't quite comprehend; his head too cluttered this morning to get things back in line.

Sally just sighed, placing one hand to her forehead in a sense of shame and using the other to point to the doorway he still stood at, "_Work_, remember, dear?"

Then it clicked and Ned's body grimaced with a number of short jerky tremors, "W-work?!" he spun around in such a manner of klutziness that he very nearly fell, "See ya, hon! See ya, Kids!"

His words were rushed, but this was quite understandable as he darted out the door in practically a blur. Still, if one paid close attention they would be able to hear a clutter of 'clangs' and 'clunks' as Ned tripped upon the concrete no more than 20 feet away from the door.

Rida had only glanced back for a moment, blinking, as if to analyze what had occurred. It had only been a moment, but she simply shrugged, looking to Sally. She did some form of salute with a wide grin on her face, "Alrighty! Watcha want me to do first?"

Sally stared at her for just a second or so, merely thinking of a way to answer properly, until she came up with something appropriate, "Um…Well, I first have to head to the store, but while I'm gone make sure they get the table cleaned up and that they all get their baths, and make sure you keep an eye on Melody in particular. I'll be back in two, maybe three hours."

"Table, baths, two/three hours. Gotcha!" beamed Rida, as if she was jotting it all down on an invisible notepad.

Arching an eyebrow, Sally still felt unsure about the circumstances of the situation. From what she had seen of her, Rida was a rather peculiar person. Still, she also knew Peggy as a more-than-just-decent sort of babysitter. She wouldn't have just dropped off anyone to watch over her children. Sally sighed and the corner of her eye caught the clock that tick-tocked along the wall. Seconds and minutes were beginning to drift by and the time was getting late. She'd have to determine things a little better sometime soon, but she had to attain a few needed necessities needed for the household of currently one hundred Whos. With this thought thick in her head, she looked back to her children, beginning her way to the door, "Kids, I'm going out to the store. Rida is staying to take care of you while I'm gone. I love you all."

In the same way they always would, the girls responded back all at once.

"Bye-Bye, Mommy!"  
"Bye, Mom!"  
"I wub you, Mommy!"

This last 'I love you' came from little Heady. It was a small sentence, but Sally had smiled not only at the words but the mere sound of the voice. Each day, it was being heard more and more as Heady's vocabulary expanded. Now, in this fragment of time, it seemed particularly easing to Sally. Still, it made it that much difficult to leave this morning, especially when things weren't quite right in her head. This small 'I love you' did more to Sally than it normally would, despite the fact she heard it every night and every morning. She took a breath and smiled again to her daughters, like a mother should, then had gone to the door. As she wrapped her slender fingers about the sleek doorknob, though, she realized something was still off. She lowered her head a bit, in order to see her son, still standing there.

"Jojo? Weren't you heading for the observatory?"

Jojo just stood, his eyes set on Rida. They were narrowed and his eyebrows were arched with befuddlement. Somehow, like his mother, he believed something to be out of balance. His fingers were barely curled around the frame of the door, but the fur bristled at the knuckles. He was brought back into this state of reality only when Sally repeated his name ("Jojo?"). It was only then did he look up and it was only then did he release his gaze from Rida.

He looked to his mother, murmuring, "Yeah, I was heading there now."

And both left without a word.

000

"So?" urged Ka'oo in a hushed whisper as he beat the nubs of his fingers in a melodic tone along the roof of the mayor's home. His body was low and pressed against the roof in order to conceal himself from anyone who happened to be looking in their direction. His head was rested in his crossed arms while his eyes were set on his younger sister.

"She's in," whispered Bella as she shut the cell phone in her hand. She lifted up her torso from the heated stone of the roof, but only slightly.

"Your talent for imitating voices…well, it's a bit scary, really," murmured Ka'oo as he trailed his eyes to his own set of fingers as they continued to beat against the rigid material.

Bella grinned along this and she lifted her chin, responding in a proud and satisfied tone that was emphasized not only on her lips but also on the entire posture of her body, "Why thank you."

Ka'oo smiled, but it was only a partial crooked smile. In that one smile there sat so many words. In that one smile…there sat uneasiness, frustration, and heartbreak. He rested his cheek on the rough roof, the heat transferring onto his fur from the touch. He pulled out a cigarette. This had become his new 'accessory' since Ned had left with Melody. Numerous times, he was warned that it could blacken his lungs and cause them to shrivel, but, to him, all that didn't even matter anymore.

He lit the item that his fingers were curled about with a golden lighter. There was a small clicking sound as a single flame arose. As he did this, he held no emotion in his eyes, only the cold hollow sense of a corpse, "I quit today."

Bella blinked, unsure what to say to his statement. She sat up entirely now, no longer caring if she was seen or not this early morning, "…Quit?"

Ka'oo had nodded, now brushing the tip of the lit cigarette along the stone, watching the speckles of lights drift away from the crinkled tip, "There's no point in staying now, is there? The whole point of me being there was to watch over Melody and that didn't exactly work out as planned."

"So that's it," Bella responded, cleaning her black sunglasses with the edge of her thumb, "Well, that's stupid."

"Excuse me?"

"I said it's stupid. You could've still visited her, here. If you were the doctor she requested, then you still could've given her home-visits," Bella explained simply with a shrug, not even glancing to her older brother.

"She wouldn't have done that. She went to him, Bella. You should've seen that face of hers light up when she heard him speak," Ka'oo stomach's dropped and he gritted his teeth together, "And even if she did allow me to visit, there's no way I could stand the sight of her being with a family she doesn't belong to…"

Without a second thought, Bella thwacked him at the back of his head, annoyed.

"Hey – what the hell?!" began Ka'oo, glowering as he held the back of his head where her hand had come in contact.

"Stop sounding so dang emotional!!" Bella ordered, and her chest was heaving up and down with frustration, "You can still see her, can't you? We can all see her and watch her! Even if we aren't part of her life directly, anymore, we can still find ways to care for her, even if she doesn't realize it! Maybe to her we don't exist, but_ we'll _know and we'll still be able to protect her. You get what I'm saying, Ka'oo? Shouldn't that be enough to know that she's okay and with a family that can treat her properly?!"

Ka'oo couldn't speak. He had no such response for that, and he bit his lip. He glanced to the winding path from the Mayor's house, watching the Whos come and go; just watching, but not entirely. His mind was elsewhere…His mind was on Melody. He could not and would not respond to Bella, having lost his voice from the moment she said _'we don't exist'_…

**--**

Yeahs - The end of Ch. 10. x ' D... erm... right. Not much to say about this one.


	11. Chapter 11

**I dunno why, but I actually really enjoyed writing this chapter. XD Enjoy**

--

Melody stood there, shivering on the cool of the bathroom floor. Her feet were arched inward and she held her towel securely about her dripping wet body, her teeth chattering all throughout it. It had practically all been a blur. Her sister's had lead her to the bathroom, by Rida's command, and had literally chunked her into the bathtub (which, apparently, had already been filled). Her body was submerged beneath the water, and she lifted her head up for a deep breathe, only to be greeted by a bucket of water as one of her sister's poured it over her head with a giggle. They must've been enjoying this – _lucky them._

It had all ended with her looking like a Who-fluff ball, as one of the older of her sisters used a hairdryer along her cream-colored fur. Leading up to this, it had been a decent twenty minutes of being attacked by soap and water, the suds sticking to her creamy fur. Still, she would have preferred to stick to that, rather than a cotton ball.

"Melody! Quit squirming," declared Polly as she practically held the poor girl to the wall with the hairdryer blowing against her. The hot air caused her fur to stand up on end, despite Melody's wishes.

Taking a deep breath, Melody had attempted to follow Polly's orders, even if she didn't quite agree to the same standards. Steadying herself, Melody rested her cheek against the wall, but her expression was uneasy as she held her towel securely over her body. As Polly dried her off with this tool in her hands, a few of her other sisters were gathering supplies such as ribbon, a brush, as well as more suitable clothing. Simply put, by the time Poly had finished with her own task, Melody was crushed against the floor by Sue, Holly, and Hogey as they had dressed her, as if she were a form of doll. Melody didn't quite like this game, but what else could she do except attempt to wiggle out of their grasps before she was suffocated with perfume?

It had been another three minutes, tops, before Melody was released. Scrambling to her feet, after accidentally banging her head to the sink as she did so, before anyone else had come a foot within reach of her, she held out her hand with her palm facing towards the puzzled girls. It was a simple action, one that could be recognized so easily for the term 'stop', but this was not why they were confused. Their bewilderment was caused by the fact of why Melody held her palm to them. They were girls, after all. To them, a mere game of dress up would be considered to be under the top of the list for the word 'fun'.

Melody took a relieved breath as she discovered that she was actually being listened to. She wouldn't complain though and while she could, she'd have to take advantage of the situation. She glanced down to what she had been forced to wear. Despite the fact she could not see properly, perhaps she could at least get the gist of what it was she was wearing. Whatever it was, it was comfortable. The color spoke out as if it, itself, were alive – a vibrant pink. It covered the entire length of her arms as well. Melody's fingers traveled along the entire length of it, determining that it was probably some form of summer dress. Her fingertip came across buttons that ran up the side of it. She turned her head a bit in order to get a, hopefully, better look. She couldn't quite grasp the full details of the buttons, but they were certainly gold.

Glancing upwards to where she knew they stood, she had imagined that their faces were hopeful. So maybe they didn't do so bad, after all. Taking a breath, she had offered a timid nod in order to show she was okay with it all and would no longer attempt to pry away when they were doing something like this for her, again.

In unison, the girls giggled and grinned in satisfaction. They weren't quite done with their job yet, though – no, not yet. There was still the issue of her hair. Sue had stepped up now and held up her weapon of choice: a single gold hairbrush. Behind her, there was Holly with a stream of long pink ribbon, while Hogey had secured a can of hairspray in her hand.

Then they jumped at her.

It had all been instants of tugging and pulling at her hair. A number of times, Melody had bit her lip, holding back a small squeal of pain, as the roots of her hair were ripped at. The scent of hairspray plunged into her nostrils and she coughed several times in a row, in some desperate attempt to get it out of her throat. How could anyone stand this scent? Or even worse…the way it attacked one's lungs? Melody had no clue whatsoever. Her hair was tugged at once again by one of the girls; she didn't know which, but this one tug had been the significance to finish it all off. As the silk of her hair was pulled upon, it had been the final maneuver.

"All done!" the girls proclaimed in unison. They turned Melody's body about so that she was aiming toward the mirror.

Melody did not quite understand this. There was no point in looking in a mirror when she couldn't even see entirely. Still, she squinted her eyes and trailed her fingers to her pink hair. It was done high in long dazzling pigtails that were presented in curly locks, dancing all the way down past her waist. It was tied in luxurious bright pink ribbons that trailed down to her cheeks, brushing up against them. She blinked. So maybe these girls did know a little bit about, well…being a girl. Her fur was no longer matted and crusted, but had been restored to a relatively decent composure. The collar of fur just about her neck was fluffed slightly more and as Melody presented her fingertip to it, she realized it was soft to the touch.

Melody didn't quite understand why, but some sort of happiness had filled her and it baffled her. She wasn't sure what to do – perhaps say 'thank you'? No, she could not…and she subconsciously trailed her hand to her neck. She'd have to do something else. Melody took a breath and turned her body about to face her sister's. All had an anxious look upon their face. Melody couldn't see it, but she certainly could tell. Perhaps not through sight, but at least from the atmosphere that surrounded her. So, she determined that in someway or another, she'd have to answer them…and she allowed a smile to slowly crawl onto her lips.

The girls beamed with excitement and they very nearly pounced on her with hugs, but Melody learned that they at least knew better than that, and she was grateful for this.

"You like it?!"  
"Really, really?!"

Melody's expression was uneasy, but she nodded, very cautiously, but she would soon regret this action of hers, greatly.

"Good!" declared Polly, grinning from ear to ear, but now poked Melody in the chest, "Cause we're doing this all over again eeeevery morning! Mm-kay?"

Melody blinked – she hadn't quite expected that sort of response.

"And there's no way your getting out of it, got it?" spoke Hogey, with surety clear in her voice.

For a moment, Melody had almost opened her mouth to speak in protest. She bit her lip and stopped herself – the idea was absurd. As she fiddled with the fluff of her collar, she had sighed, nodding. What other choice did she have, after all? None, or so she believed.

"Aw! Don't look so glum!" pouted Sue.

"Yeah, you'll thank us for it, someday!" added Holly, reassuringly.

"We swear!" spoke the rest.

For just an instant, Melody had looked to them. Her white eyes searched for them desperately, but it was only an obscurity of colors. She knew they were sill standing and waiting for an answer though, with hopeful smiles still placed across their lips, never wanting to go. And Melody smiled back. What more could she do? They were just being siblings, after all…

000

Rida helped set the final dish within the sink, allowing the suds to run down the glass material. The sleek plate shone marvelously as the rushing water trailed like teardrops down to the bottom edge. Her fingers held it carefully in her hands as she swung back and forth on her heels, humming a happy-go-lucky tune. She was engulfed in this odd happiness, not allowing a single thing to pass through. That is, until she felt a tug on the clothing behind her. She blinked and glanced downward, with some strange hopeful smile dancing on her lips.

The girls, the same ones who had previously played 'dress-up' with their new sister, were the ones who stood at Rida's feet. There grins were wild and wide, like their Father's always seemed to be. The statement 'Daddy's little girls' came into her thought as Rida analyzed their behavior. She leaned down, smiling, finding it only appropriate, "Yes?"

"Look what we did with Melody!" grinned one of them, and they pulled Melody forward with clear satisfaction, even if Melody, herself, seemed more than unsure; she seemed simply frazzled.

Rida stared for a moment, her eyes going hollow…and for a time the girls wondered if something was wrong. At least until Rida had reached her hand forward to touch the curly locks of hair, now smiling widely, "Yeah. She looks great. You girls did a good job."

She touched her hair again, but as the edge of her thumb brushed along the corner of Melody's cheek…Melody had recoiled with uneasiness to the touch. Rida bit her lip, and even though she smiled, her insides were as if it had been torn apart. Rida could've sworn her heart would rip through her chest at any given moment from simply swelling and throbbing so viciously inside her.

Lifting herself up, Rida took a breath and her smile was wider and more convincing as ever, "Hey, can you girls put that last dish away for me? I have to do something fast."

The girls only glanced to her for a second, but had nodded with simplicity, eager to please.

Rida watched them all carefully for a final time before she turned her body and headed to the hallway. She had left in such a hurry, she had nearly tripped over her racing feet; the mere sound of her footsteps throbbing in her eardrums. She had wandered a great distance away from that kitchen, making sure, by all means, that she was completely and utterly alone. She rested her forehead against the wall and pounded her fist against the hard surface. Her smile was gone and happiness was absent from her body entirely. Her chest was heaving up and down, as her breathing wavered in rushed tones. She parted her lips and spoke, despite the fact that no one was there to hear, "…You really don't remember us…do you, Melody?"

000

Just as Sally had predicted, she arrived home almost three hours later. She nudged the door open by her shoulder, holding too-many-bags to count within her arms. It was always tedious stopping for such a large household number, but it was still her job to do so as Ned did his own part at work. Perhaps it was tiresome, but Sally, like her husband, would not have it any other way.

"Girls, Rida – I'm home," she declared as she made her way into the kitchen, beginning to set down the large number of bags along the counter. The instant her arms were empty, she found them full to the brim again as a few of her daughters jumped within them, greeting her with grins.

"Welcome back, Mommy!"  
"Mommy, Mommy!"  
"Yahs – You're back!"

Sally smiled, just as before – this was why she wouldn't have it any other way. As she withdrew from them, placing the smaller ones along the floor carefully, she spoke in her same gentle voice, "Were you good for Ms. Rida?"

"Yup, Yup!"

"And what about Melody?" Sally urged, still smiling warmly, so that a tender heat practically radiated off of her, "Did you all have fun with your new sister, today?"

"Uh-huh!" spoke Polly.  
"We dressed her up all pretty!" added Sue.  
"And we did her hair, too!" finalized both Holly and Hogey.

Sally kept her smile on her lips as she heard this, "Really, now? Sounds like you had fun."

As the four girls nodded their head in sheer agreement, Sally had lifted her head a bit and looked over the crowd of girls, searching for one in particular, out of her own curiosity and fascination, "Where is Melody, anyway?"

"Uuum…" Polly thought for a sec, placing a finger to her chin, thinking deeply, until she had come up with a solution. She turned around quickly, without a word, and hurried past her mother, and through the crowd of her sister's until she reached the edge of the kitchen, pointing to the window, "There she is, Mommy!"

Sally straightened herself up, and looked to where Polly pointed. There by the window, was Melody. She was leaned up over the windowsill; her eyes wide and curious as she watched something – she wasn't sure what – flutter and flap its tiny wings just outside the open window. To her, it was a nothing but a blurry blob of dazzling scarlet. In detail, however, it was a tiny butterfly. Its body was black, with its antennas stretched out and curling over at the tips. The wings of it were a base of white, but over this simple white, were splatters of scarlet, speckled upon the entire length of its wings. Melody watched it with such fascination, reaching out her slender fingers to nearly touch it, until she was drawn back by the sound of Sally's voice.

"There you are," Sally had spoken, leaning down so that she was closer to her level. She smiled and touched the edge of her the lush pink curls of Melody's hair, then drew her hand back, "Your sisters did a good job on you, huh?"

Melody looked at her and tilted her head, and faintly she nodded, but she wanted to more than just that. She wanted to smile, but she wasn't quite sure how she had done it early. She leaned her body back against the window sill, barely hearing the fluttering of the butterfly's wings, but it was enough to reassure her. She had begun to spread her lips into her smile, but, just half way though, something had caught up into her throat and she jerked.

"Melody?" Sally questioned, arching an eyebrow, noticing the strange action.

She didn't respond, cupping her hands over her mouth as she coughed. Her eyes squinted shut and the pain in her throat would not stop. It throbbed and she could hear blood rushing up her throat, and the rusty taste of the crimson lied on her tongue. Melody knew this taste… she knew it all too well.

"Melody? Are you okay?" Sally inquired again, saying her name as a sudden worriness rushed through her, she carefully set her fingers about her adopted daughter's wrist, "Melody?"

"Melody?"  
"Meelody!"

The girls had chimed in, as they surrounded them now.

Still, Melody wouldn't speak, just holding her hands up to her mouth. She tasted blood, she knew it was blood – she always did. It would come up her throat on the strangest times. It throbbed and rose up her neck again. She bit her lip, pulling her hands down and away from her mouth. There, upon the palm of her hands, were speckles of scarlet…speckles of scarlet just like the ones of the butterfly she so wished to catch…

--

**Haha! Cliffhanger... 8D Lmao... But anywho, I felt that Sally and the McDodd daughters really needed to be exposed a bit more, I mean, they're still part of hte story. ;3**


	12. Chapter 12

**Alright. xD So... here it is. Chapter 12! Enjoy 8D**

--

Ned's thumb trailed along the edge of the soft page of the book, his eyes squinted as they trailed down the entire length of the page. He stood on the top of the ladder in order to reach the highest point of the bookshelf. One of his lengthy arms was wrapped about one of the poles of the ladder, while he held the book in his other hand. His legs and feet were twisted about the step of the ladder, so that he was able to secure his body to it.

He knew he wasn't supposed to be here, not at the library looking at books, but what else could he do when he was already late? Well, he might as well make the most of it – that's what.

"L.E., Leu, Leukemia… Ha! There it is!" announced the Mayor, grinning widely, but was quickly shushed by the librarian. He glanced to her, and had nearly fallen off the ladder as he heard this simple 'shush'. It had been close, but, rather then what he did most of the time, he did not fall. He held onto the latter a bit more firmly, and bit his lip, now focusing on the book again, reading all that it wrote.

This was his true purpose for arriving here, at the Who-Library, was to learn as much as he could possibly manage of these 'diseases' that plagued Melody's body. He'd been at for some time now, having lost track of the minutes – _hours _– that had passed. For the moment, Ned did not care; too engulfed in all the large medical terms that he didn't understand.

Well, he _was _engulfed until a violent ringing had echoed through his eardrums, and this time, he had in fact fallen hard along the floor; the book he held tumbling atop his head as a follow-up. Again, there was that 'shush' and Ned knew he had been heard again. He recoiled, feeling the tense gaze of the Librarian's tight eyes. He scurried to his feet, the blasted ringing still echoing against his eardrums; it had yet to cease. Ned not only knew this because of the firm ringing it pronounced, but because of the continuing glower of annoyance he received in numbers now. He dug into the pocket of his blue vest. Why had he somehow been convinced by his daughters to get that Who-phone? He didn't have an answer to that, or rather, he did, but he wanted an answer he was not ashamed of.

He had remembered that day, as a few of his daughters, consisting of Hailey and Holley, had simply walked past him bragging over the new devices they owned. Hailey's was a glamorous purple, while Holley's was sleek silver. It had only been a few minutes of them going on over the same simple things, on how this phone was so 'spectacular', eventually leading to them giving Ned the one look he could not ignore; the classic little girl pout, with their large eyes under their eyelashes as they looked up to their Father. They only had to say once, just one time: 'you need a get a Who-phone, too, Daddy!'

And that's how he ended up with this phone. For a bit, he felt accomplished having this new bit of technology along with him, even continuing onward when both Hailey and Holley bragged in the same fashion they had done before to all their friends that even their father, the Mayor, had the hippest things, like the Who-phone. So, maybe that did make Ned a little proud, even if it has been running up the bills for the past three months.…and he's been stuck with this Who-phone ever since – because he had fallen for the puppy-dog eyes he received from his daughters.  
_  
Ring!!_The Mayor was suddenly brought back from his thoughts, and he hurriedly rushed open the phone, all while he was cowering under the Librarian's strengthening glowers.

"Um…Hello?" Ned whispered into the mouthpiece of the phone, averting his gaze from the same Librarian.

The voice that had followed was Sally's frantic tone. _Since when had Sally ever been frantic?_ Ned couldn't call one solitary time, yet, this was definitely her voice that entered through the phone to eardrum, "Ned, we have a bit of situation. Melody – she's… she's coughing up blood, and she hasn't quit at it for the past few minutes. This has to do with one of her diseases, right? _Tell me you know what to do, Ned_."

Then Ned understood, he understood perfectly.

And he found his own voice wavering along with Sally's, except in a much louder voice, "Sh-she's what?!"

He was shot another glare and another 'shush' equal to the others. It was because of this 'shush' that Ned was about this close to snapping on that Librarian – or at least he had in his mind. Right now, he cowered, softening his voice as he spoke again, "She's coughing up blood…?"

"I've already accomplished that, Ned," Sally sighed on the other end of the line, and Ned could make out spouts of worry from a number of his daughters in the background, "What I need to know is what to do to make it stop."

"Um, um…J-just a second…" and Ned thought deeply over the matter, biting his lip, "Er, um…Coughing up blood, that would be, um…"

Ned began flipping through the books frantically until her reached an appropriate one, going through the pages, until he reached one, "That's her tuberculosis…Er…I should've brought home some pills for that the day I brought her home," he tapped his chin, thinking hysterically again, "…Um…eh…Look in the cabinet. _The medicine cabinet, Sally_."

He could hear the rummaging through the cabinet he had spoke of. He heard the gentle clings and clangs as the pill bottles rushed against each other. Then he heard Sally's voice again, attempting to regain its composure, "Ned…What am I looking for, exactly?"

"A little blue bottle with a white labeling on it that says 'Tuberculosis'. There's a couple more with the rest of Melody's sick-stuff on them, but that's the one you want," Ned spoke, and for the first time, there seemed to be the authority of a real father in his voice, even if this was just their first official day with Melody.

There were a few moments of the small beats that would be pronounced as the material of the bottles clashed vigorously, while Ned imagined Sally's fingers going through each one. Then there was a pause, and Ned could picture that Sally had found what she was looking for, "I got it. Thanks, Ned – "

Then she hung up, leaving Ned hanging on the opposite end. He bit his lip, and his expression had fallen as he only heard a hollow dial tone on the opposite end of line.

That was all he could remember from that day, just the voice of his wife and the thought of scarlet blood. The image would not leave his mind, and he could not let the small drip-dropping sound of liquid red leave his eardrums. Even throughout his meeting with his council, he could not hear the Chairman's voice. If he had been called a 'boob' again, Ned didn't know – but there was no doubt in his mind that he had been called that name once more. He had been late by several hours, and yelled and shouted out. He hadn't cowered or backed down. Ned had only stood, staring into blankness, his mind elsewhere – anywhere else, he did not care. As long as he was away from his work mentally, he could withstand it. That way, he did not have to realize that he was away from where he should be.

000

The sounds of bells chimed, and the silver marbles danced and sang as they fell down the swerving tracks. Jojo loved this sound; he loved this whole place. He stood in the center of it, enjoying the mere melody of it all, not knowing what was happening back at his own home. In this moment, he was just being Jojo and enjoying the sound of the music around him. It was different, but it was the sort of sound that Jojo loved – any sort of sound; different, and unique from the rest, like he was. The sun shone on his cheeks, as the walls of the of the tower broke apart just slightly, letting in just enough light to illuminate the area entirely. No, it was not extraordinarily bright, but this was how Jojo liked it.

Jojo took a step, and the small 'thump' of his furry feet had gone along with the rest of the sounds that surrounded him. He smiled, just one smile, but this was all the he would need. He didn't need words to express himself nor a single expression or smile, just the music that he created. Yes, that would be enough.

The wind suddenly ruffled his fur, and for a moment, one could've sworn there was a faint laugh. If there was, Jojo didn't care – he was just being himself. Wasn't that all that mattered? Still, Jojo loved the sound, the sound of the rustling wind. He'd have to master that sound somehow… and already his mind was beginning to turn with ideas.

_Thump, thump, thump._If it wasn't for this 'thump, thump, thump' Jojo would've continued planning the thoughts of this new instrument all day, but this 'thump, thump, thump' was just to firm and loud to ignore. The atmosphere was broken, and Jojo was brought back into reality. Where had that sound come from? He arched an eyebrow, his fur prickling with sheer curiosity. That sound didn't belong here, or rather; he had not come up with it. That 'thump, thump, thump' had not belonged to him, or to any of the rest of his instruments. So…where did it belong?

_Thump, thump._Only two 'thumps' this time, but it was enough for Jojo to determine where they came from. He craned his head upwards. It was coming from the roof. He knew that much. Without a second though, Jojo had darted to his bucket-elevator that he had conducted quite some time back now, and threw himself in it. He hit the switch, and it flung him upwards. He kept his gaze at the ceiling, with squinted eyes. He knew that sound – they were footsteps. As the elevator had come to a sudden halt, Jojo had stretched out his hand to press another button, in order to allow the walls of the Star Studying tower to peak open just a bit more, but only slightly. Like everything else, it had been enough to spot the Who that stood atop the roof.

He stood there, his face firm with a cigarette in his lips, and from his face, it seemed like he had been waiting for Jojo. There was no surprise on his face, but he glanced to the side, being the first to speak, "You caught me."

Jojo just stared at him, getting out of the bucket, and onto the metal deck, backing up, so that he was still able to see the person on the roof. His eyebrows wrinkled with befuddlement, but he didn't speak.

"Oh, right – I forgot you don't speak," the Who had shrugged. Jojo noticed he had cream fur and blonde hair. He had never seen him before, and yet, this Who seemed to know Jojo, "No worries. I'll just do the talking for you."

Jojo backed up again. _What was with this guy?_ He eyed the cigarette in his lips, unsure.

"So, I hear you got a new sister, huh?" he spoke simple, his voice was hollow and cold as if he had been dead for years, "Melody, I believe…"

Faintly, Jojo had nodded, despite the fact his fur was still standing on end.

"But you don't really care do you?" he suddenly spoke, and he jumped from the roof, landing on the deck just in front of Jojo, biting that same cigarette. Jojo couldn't speak, only crane his head upwards to look at him, _"Do you?!"_All was silent, Jojo could not, would not speak or even open his mouth to take a breath. He could not hear the music. He could not hear the sound that once gave him so much joy. He was still. He didn't understand, nor did he want to. He only watched, waiting for the Who to continue on and eventually leave. This was all he could stand to do.

"So why is it…that you have the pleasure of being her brother, huh? Why is it that she has to have the 'pleasure' of having someone like you, someone like you who has no respect for her or even gives a crap…" the Who didn't move either, he only watched Jojo, his eyes firm and unchanging as he watched Jojo.

"…You make me sick," he spoke again, growling. Jojo noticed his hands were clutched in fists, and that he was gritting down that cigarette to practically nothingness, "…But…apparently, I have no other choice but to tolerate you. So, I'm willing to make a deal, got it? And you _will _comply."

Jojo could not speak again. His throat had gone try, only watching; only watching and waiting for him to continue on. What more could he possibly do? What could his voice possibly do in a situation like this? Perhaps it could save Whoville from boiling in a pot of muck, but in a situation in this… what could it do?

The Who took a step forward and he poked his finger on top of Jojo's head. Instantly, Jojo had recoiled and shoved the hand away. The Who only laughed, removing the cigarette from his lips and holding it in between his fingers, watching the smoke dwindle away from it at the end, "…Here's the thing – you will care and watch over Melody, and make sure she stays alive. If not, you'll die only seconds after she does…"

He whispered this last part of his statement, having to lean down a bit as he watched Jojo. A moment later, he smirked, and he back away without another word, vanishing and leaving in the same odd way that he had appeared.

--

**There it is. X3 And Ka'oo meets Jojo... fwahahaha! Will Jojo listen to him? Stay tuned... lmao. No, seriously. On other news, though, I'm not sure if Music Notes will be updated quite as fast anymore. o.o; When I first started putting this up, I already had everything pre-written up to about Ch. 6 or 7. Well, I sort of caught up with myself. And I'm not sure if I can type a chapter per day (I'll definately try!!) but its not a guarantee. So, except the updates to vary from 1-3 days in between each chapter, mkay?**


	13. Chapter 13

**Well, here's Ch. 13! 8D Enjoy! I thank you all for your support!!**

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"Where is she? Is she alright?!" Ned's voice came in such a frantic tone, that Sally had to back away a bit.

She smiled uneasily, and motioned down the hallway toward the girl's room, "She's fine. She's passed out right now. She said she wasn't hungry."

This 'she' that they spoke of was to be Melody. This 'she' was the subject of all the frazzle and panic that was in the atmosphere. Ned had nearly killed himself trying to get back home in such a rush after he was dismissed from work. Despite the fact he had arrived home in one piece, mentally, he was on the edge; engulfed in his own panic over this single Who daughter, one he barely knew. It had not even been a full day. What was happening to him in such a short time? Even he, the Mayor, did not know.

"What about her insomnia?" Ned now spoke as he recalled this small detail.

"She seemed alright when I checked on her last," Sally thought back for a moment. She then motioned in the direction where Ned knew the girl's room was, "You can see for yourself, if you li-"

But Ned was gone before she could even finish the sentence. Sally sighed, placing the palm of her hand to her forehead, "Ned, Ned, Ned…What on earth have you gotten yourself into?"

But Ned would not hear, and she knew this too well – because he was already halfway to his daughters' bedroom. Even when he reached the specified room, however – even when he stumbled onto the sleek floor – the room itself seemed absolutely foreign. It was horribly empty and quiet. All his girls were absent from within these four walls. That is…_most_ of them were gone. _Most _of them were who-knows-where, except for one, and this one was the precise one that Ned had planned to see, despite the hush, but this 'hush' told him and reassured him that the wordless atmosphere could only belong to her; it could only belong to Melody.

She lied there, in the farthest corner of the room, where only one ray of light peaked through to the bedding she was upon. Her eyes were closed, but Ned knew better then to simply believe she was sleeping. Once he had maneuvered his way to the bed, he took a breath, looking down to her. Melody was quiet, just like she always was, except her eyes were closed this time. Unlike the rest of his daughters, she was almost too still in her sleep, her little chest barely moving up and down as she breathed. Still, she breathed nonetheless; this, Ned was sure of. He leaned down a bit, so that he could watch his daughter more carefully. Was she really sleeping? No, Ned was sure of that, too. He had to make sure, anyway.

"Melody, um…you awake?"

Just as Ned had predicted, Melody's wide white eyes had opened, and she turned toward him, tilting her head, with raising curiosity.

Ned smiled, "So you _are_ up. Um, that good! Yeah, er…So, you're feeling better?"

Melody's eyes were still wide and filled with wonder, she didn't respond, only a faint nod, and then looking up to the ceiling with those same eyes.

"So, yeah – that's good, yeah," Ned stammered. He wasn't sure what else to say. What else _could_ he say? Melody wasn't quite like the rest of his daughters, who were all so easy to talk to. No, Melody was completely different from the rest of them, "Then um…How was your day before you…Yeah, how was your day?"

She looked back to him, her eyes unchanging. This time, she only shrugged.

"I see some of your sisters got a hold of you," Ned smiled uneasily as he poked her head, running his finger down the long curly strand of pink that was still held up in ribbon.

Melody's fingers followed his, and she touched the curls, looking at it strangely, recalling how her sisters had worked hard to fix herself up. Then, she nodded, looking to Ned again, with that same face…

"Did you have fun with them?" Ned urged, pulling his hand away, awkwardly.

She stared at him, again, and then nodded in the identical way.

"Um…That's good," Ned muttered, then he had gone blank; he had run out of questions. After a moment or so, he started clicking his tongue, in some desperate attempt for there to be some sort of sound, "Soooo…"

Arching an eyebrow, Melody turned entirely on her side, so that she was able to look at him more carefully. Then, she even sat up, but during this whole process she kept her eyes on him. It was during this, that Ned began to wonder whether or not she could even see him properly. Yes, he knew that she could certainly hear him, but was it positive that she could see him even from this short distance? No, it wasn't.

Ned sighed, and now straightened himself, smiling again, and he managed an uneasy laugh, "Guess I'll be going then, now that you're good and all," and he took a step backward; not one of his best moves. His feet had stumbled over some sort of toy that one of his daughters had left upon the ground. He wasn't sure what sort of toy it was, but he was positive it was some form of it. Nonetheless, toy or no, he still stumbled and fell hard back against the ground.

Blinking, Ned quickly regained his composure – though, he did so in a rather klutzy way – and ran a hand through his hair, uneasily, trailing his hand down his chin, biting his lip. Even as he tried to act like this hadn't happen, it wouldn't prepare him for what he heard next…

There was laughter.

A laughter as gentle as a small child; this was fitting, because it belonged to one. Ned glanced in the direction of Melody, but how could it be her? He'd never seen her open her mouth once, he had never even seen her smile, nor had he ever seen her even laugh… He'd only seen those wide unseeing eyes. Yet, here she was on the bed, giggling like a little girl should. This time, it was Ned that was staring, his eyes as wide as Melody's normally were. Then, Melody had swung her feet off the side of the bed, but did not move from that spot, knowing that if she did, she'd probably make the same mistake as Ned. She did not see, but she could make out where he was by mere sound; the distinct wavering breaths that Ned took with rising puzzlement. She just watched him with that smile, with those small giggles.

Ned found a small smile crawling along his lips as he watched this, "So…Are you sure you're alright?" he questioned one last time.

This time, Melody had kept her smile, and she looked up to him, reassuringly, as she raised one hand, forming it into a peace sign…and Ned knew it would all be alright.

000

Jojo could not get the scent of smoke out of his nostrils. Even on his entire trip home, he could smell it. He squinted his eyes as dusk had begun to set over Whoville this evening. Even as the day grew darker, Jojo could not get the male Who's voice, the one who constantly nibbled at that cigarette, out of his head and it was driving him insane. It still would not cease as he strolled into the kitchen of his home, noticing that a number of his sisters were already seated at the winding table, chatting amongst one another. The plates were not yet filled, but they would be at any time, signifying that Jojo had arrived just on time. As he made his way to the table, to hopefully settle in a seat to await his food, he was stopped.

Sally had set a hand along her son's shoulder, while she held a bowl of hot soup in her other, "Ah, Jojo – there you are. I need you to take this soup to Melody. She's…had a bit of a rough day and I don't want her getting out of bed, yet."

The steamy bowl was now placed in Jojo's hand, and he stared at it for a moment, raising one eyebrow. It was relatively warm as he expected; the heat radiating through the bowl and onto his fur. So much for having his own dinner, right now.  
It had taken a moment, but Jojo nodded nonetheless, in a hope to please his mother, anyway.

Watching Jojo turn on cue, Sally caught sight of Ned from the corner of her eye, while he returned into the kitchen. He held a satisfied look etched on his face, and Sally grasped the utmost confusion as she saw this, as she wondered what could've occurred to make Ned grin as he did.

Jojo, too, noticed this odd occurrence as he glanced over his shoulder. He pulled his vision away from his father, tightening his grip upon the bowl. He'd question him about it later; for all he knew, Ned could just be being Ned. With this one single thought, Jojo turned his body and began his trek to his sisters' room.

When he found her, Melody was standing by the open window in the same odd silence – apparently she did not wish to stay in bed like Sally hoped for. The sky was black now, as she watched it, only a few speckles of light scattered upon the curtain of black. It was still enough, however, to illuminate the features on her face. They were hollow and blank, holding nothing that Jojo could understand. His eyes then trailed to her bed. The sheets were sprawled along the floor, showing how Melody had klutzily fallen from the safety of the mattress. Randomly overturned and placed among the floor, leading up to her, were several toys and books that the rest of his sisters left there. Jojo could only imagine how difficult of a time Melody had had getting to that window when she was practically blind.

He would worry about that later, as for now…

Jojo found himself glancing to the bowl in his hand, and he was fairly pleased with how the aroma of hot tomato soup had replaced the smoke he had so hated earlier.

_'Well, Jojo, nothing more to do then give her, her dinner.'_He cleared his throat in an attempt to grasp Melody's attention. Jojo preferred this, rather then actually speaking. No, he did not have a problem with speaking – not anymore – but after living his life practically in silence, it was simply easier this way.

At the sound, Melody lifted her head, and glanced to the right, rather then where Jojo stood. He arched an eyebrow, finding this strange – perhaps she did not hear him properly? That was very much possible, considering Melody's condition, but Jojo did not wish to take the time to come up with another 'ahem' or even a 'yopp'. Instead, he reached out his hand, keeping the bowl in his other, and turned her head toward him.

In response, Melody greeted Jojo with a face of awkwardness, biting her lip. After a moment, she nodded to him in another attempt of a greeting. Jojo wasn't sure how, but she seemed to realize who he was, even if he was just a blur to her. Setting this thought in the back of his head, he pulled her over to the side and set her on the nearest bed. As he did this, however, Melody still seemed to have difficulty guiding her own body and feet, even with Jojo pulling her along. Jojo thought deeply over the matter, the whole thing bothering him quite a bit. As she settled on the edge of the bed, and even after Jojo handed her the soup, he couldn't let this contemplation go so easily. As he watched her feel for the spoon and scoop the liquid into it, awkwardly, Jojo began to realize that this was getting a little too ridiculous. That's when Jojo determined that something had to be done about this vision-problem of Melody's. With a sigh, he came to understand that he would be the Who to do so.

As he scrambled away from her, Melody lifted her head at the sounds of thumps that came from the bottom of his feet. She tilted her head, and folded her legs underneath her, keeping the bowl of soup firm in her hands. He hadn't left the room, she could at least tell that. Melody made out the faint sounds as Jojo rummaged through one of his sisters' drawers. What exactly he was looking for, she wasn't sure. All she knew was that he was still here, searching for something.

It had probably only been a few minutes, when Jojo pulled away from the third or fourth drawer. In his hands, he held a set of glasses. They had once belonged to his sister, Hailey. Since then, however, she had gotten a number of new pairs. She would not miss just one. Jojo glanced black to Melody, the glasses held perfectly in his hands. He took a breath, as he realized she was looking toward him. Jojo assumed she would hear his small footsteps, as he made his way back to her. He stopped less then a foot in front of her, as she looked back up to Jojo.

She stared, and just stared with those hollow eyes, not understanding what Jojo was doing. She did not comprehend as he moved the bowl out of her lap and to the side, and then placed something on her face. She recoiled at the touch of the hard cool material at the tip of her nose, closing her eyes in the process. Jojo did not say anything as she did this, she could only hear him stand there quietly, his breathing soft as he waited for something. Slowly, Melody had opened her eyes, and she blinked. Everything she saw was still in the same vibrant colors, but… But, it was all so very different. She could make out the details and the form of every object around her. She could see them distinctly, and she touched her fingers to the glasses on her nose, realizing what they were.

For a moment, Melody was stunned. They were glasses. Back at the orphanage, she had always wished for a pair in some hope to improve her vision, yet, there never seemed enough money for something as simple as that. She could not speak, but then again, when would she ever? She took a breath, and decided to look up to correctly see the face of her older brother…and she smiled. She no longer just saw the cool blacks and grays that consisted of his fur, but now, she saw every detail, and the structure of his body and face. He was no longer just a blur, but instead, an actual Who.

What Melody did next, Jojo would never expect. He had nearly fallen over backwards, as his sister jumped from her bed and wrapped her arms about him, giggling. Jojo just stood there, trying to comprehend what had just happened. He shook his head, and broke apart from her, and set her back on the bed. She was still smiling, as he set the soup back in her lap and pointed to it, then spoke softly and quickly, "Mom wants you to eat, alright…?"

Melody had only nodded, but she couldn't get this smile away from her face, it was spreading; the entire length from ear to ear. She ate the hot soup, licking her lips a bit; she was ecstatic.

Jojo didn't say anymore, but he turned his body, and began his way to the door. Still, he glanced back at Melody for a moment, and he had managed to get the scent of smoke in his nose again. Quickly, he hurried his way out of the room. During that entire sequence, as Jojo felt the warm fuzzy hands wrap around his body, he couldn't get that voice out of his head… the words he had been told, as it played over and over in his head, like a broken record:

_"you will care and watch over Melody, and make sure she stays alive. If not, you'll die only seconds after she does…"_

--****

Alrighty, and so we reach the end of Ch. 13. 8D I honestly can't believe how far I've gotten with this! o.o I thank you all for motivating with this! I think that's the primrary reason I'm so hooked writing this fic. I love seeing what you guys think, especially a few of the OCs I put in. I was a little worried when I first decided that this would included quite a few OCs. But now I'm definately been reassured that its all cool. 8D I thank you all!! 


	14. Chapter 14

**Guess who's back and better then ever? XD That's right!! I've finally returned! I bet you thought this fic was dead, huh? Huh?! XD Well, it's back and so am I! I've come back with another chapter of Music Notes, and I'm now in my Senior year of High School now. So woo-hoo! And now, dun dun dun, here's the long awaited Chapter 14!**

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"Dammit!" growled Ka'oo, pounding his fist against the roof. He mumbled something in addition to this, but it was better left unsaid.

Across the roof, Bella muttered an 'eep' from shock at the sudden sound of Ka'oo's voice. She had practically choked on the sandwich in her hands; one that most likely was stolen out of the Mayor's refrigerator. Let it be known that right about now, as Bella managed to push the remnants of turkey down her throat, did Ned lift his head from the fridge and yell to Sally, puzzled, "Hon, where's my sandwich?"

Bella, however, would be oblivious to this and would continue to chew and nibble on the thick crust, even as she was still shocked by Ka'oo's outburst she forced another gulp of food down her throat, though, before she would speak to her older brother, "Did I…miss something?"

Ka'oo lifted his head, but his eyes were on the Who-city below. Yet, his mind was not upon those Whos but one other in particular. He sat above the large window that he knew guarded their Melody, but what he had made out angered him to no extent. He had witnessed the simple action within the room when jojo had so casually given her a set of glasses. It was the thing that happened next that made him so enraged. Melody had jumped up from her comfortable bed and swung her little arms about him. She was smiling…

The male who shot up form his spot, suddenly, as Bella had poked him at the back of his head. She 'eeped' again.

"Where – are – my cigarettes?"

Bella blinked at the randomness of the statement, and thus she cocked her head to match her expression, "…Ka'oo?"

"My cigarettes. Where are they?"

"Eh…Ria has them. Said something about dunking them in the river. Said she was tired of you killing yourself with 'em…" at this point Bella was poking her own fingers together. Her expression was meek and rather timid, compared to her usual go-lucky outlook. She braced herself fully for what was to come.

The outburst was just as Bella had anticipated.

"She did _what?_" Ka'oo responded, looming over her. Bella flinched under his gaze. Once seeing this action in his younger sister, he twirled around and away from her, placing his hands on each of his temples. He proceeded to mumble to himself with annoyance clearly ridden in his voice, "Annoying friggin sister…she _knows _I need those things or I go insane…when I get a hold of her..."

This mumbling continued on for a few more minutes and he would have continued to bad mouth Ria were it not for the familiar voice of one of his sisters pounded on his eardrum. The term 'speak of the Devil' suddenly came to mind.

"Why's he mumbling to himself, again?" he had heard Ria say to Bella. Ka'oo was overall unsure when she had come onto the roof with them, but he rather did not care.

In one quick turn and a number of few steps only, Ka'oo was over Ria and clearly not pleased with anything she had been doing. Rather then addressing her properly, he held out a hand to her and spoke in a firm monotone, "Cigarette. Now."

Ria did not flinch nor move, instead, she just stared at his hand for a few moments, taking notice of the structure of it. She knew what it 'look' like, but never quite took the time to analyze it before. This did not take long, however, as she pushed his hand back toward him.

"Can't."

Ka'oo stared at her in disbelief, and he seemed to be straining to keep himself all together, "And _why _can't you?"

"I threw them out for you."

Ka'oo's eyes flared for a moment, and he opened his mouth, planning to speak some profane words. This plan, though, had come to a halt, as Ria placed her fingers on his lips to keep him silent. This was part of the reason he was not quite fond of having sisters. He could only imagine the chaos that occurred in the Mayor's house with now _97 _little girls running around.

"Quit the dramatics, Ka'oo," Ria had said so imply, and before she continued on, had allowed her face to soften over the matter, "Now, what's this really about?"

Now Ka'oo was the silent one, but not because of the fingers on his lips, but because he was at a loss. He could not find appropriate words to suit the way he felt. He could only see the image of Melody flinging her arms about Jojo, how she had wrung them so precise about his body. With a tense, he whispered with deep regret.

"She's all ready replaced me."

000

The night was difficult to overcome, though, it had barely crossed over into the late evening when Melody determined her 'sleep' would not quite be considered 'sleep'. Perhaps she had only slept an hour after Jojo had left her. Still, even that was not positive. Melody glanced over to the clock. 12:01 PM. Just after midnight…

Melody sighed and put a pillow over her face. Perhaps her vision was taken care of – _for now, _but they could do nothing for her insomnia. It did not help that she had heard voices throughout the evening. Perhaps she was losing her sanity –It was very possible after all the things that she had been diagnosed with. Still, she was able to make out mumblings upon the room. After a while they had faded, but Melody had continued contemplating them. From what she had heard, they were composed of a male and two females. She shook her head and came to the conclusion she was going mental. It was after this first conclusion did Melody come up with a second:

She was not getting anymore sleep, tonight.

With another sigh, she lifted herself up from the comfortable bed, rubbing her eyes. She could not deny her tiredness as of now. It was far too late for that. As her little who-hands ran over her eyes, her fingers came across the glasses on her nose. She fiddled with them for a moment, randomly. Then, she grinned upon the touch of it. Since the simple pair of glasses had been set there, she refused to take them off. She came to develop some strange fear that if they were taken off, she would somehow lose him. Where they were now, well…they were simply in place, and everything had become so much clearer and lovely.

She had her new older brother to thank for that.

Then an idea struck her, and Melody dropped her hands to her sides. She glanced to the clock again – so distinct and perfect compared to the fuzzy blob she would normally be forced to view. It was while looking at this clock, however, did Melody think deeply over Jojo's gift. Perhaps she owed him more than a 'Thank you.'

Perhaps she owed him a present of his own.

Then her mind began to whir with ideas and she grinned at the thought. Then, she stopped and set a finger to her chin – what exactly did Jojo like? What sort of things did someone _like_ Jojo like? She was at a loss and a disappointment, then…how much help would a present be if she did not know what he liked? Perhaps the idea was decent, but it was helpless without something to back it up.

At this point, Melody was out of her bed, and pacing about the large room, being careful not to wake up her sleeping sisters. She was cautious enough to avoid the remnant of toys scattered on the ground. This would have been rather difficult were it not for the glasses on her nose – more motivation for her to think of a proper gift for her new brother.

She had to think of something universal that was certain to be liked. This task, Melody believed was more difficult than she had previously assumed. The planning had gone for an hour, Melody soon realized as she turned her head toward the clock. She was lost in the time and had still remained clueless; head absent of any ideas. With this, she could not help but plop onto her bed. A defeat had overwhelmed her, and her expression contorted into something of failure.

To her own surprise, her stomach randomly growled.

Melody blinked and set her hand on her stomach. Perhaps that soup from earlier was not enough. She had not recalled the last time it so much as tensed. Still, she thought back to that delicious soup and smiled. It had gone down her throat so easily. It was so warm, and the phrase 'made with love' came to her head. A mother's love. She smiled at the though, a mother. Then, her mind went back to the delicious food that Sally had prepared for her.

…and that's when she came up with a solution.

She instantly shot up from the bed, and scurried out of the room, to the kitchen.

000

All throughout that night, Jojo was finding it hard to sleep. His night had began relatively silent. After dinner, he had gone to the observatory for another hour or so, then returned to simply fall into a deep slumber on his bed. He had not bothered to say good night, his eyes having a will of their own as they shut. Within moments, he was out. Despite this decent effort to join his dreams, he awoke somewhere close to 1:30 in the morning. He shuddered, and rolled in his bed. There was a small ruckus coming from the kitchen, and he was not particularly satisfied with this. There were 'clings' and 'clangs', and they all pierced his eardrums.

Tonight, he had just wanted to sleep, but this was not what whoever-was-making-the-noise had in mind. After a while, however, he found that it dimmed down - a 'while' being over an hour later, closer to three AM. It was not a pleasant thing for Jojo. If anything, it was unpleasant. Even after the noise had ended, he was still awake in his bed, and was like this for two more hours. His eyes would trail to the clock, and with dismay, he discovered it to blink with vivacity '5:02'. By this time, his mother should be getting up soon to make breakfast. There was no point in staying like this now. He sat up in his bed. His expression was bleak, and tired; as it should be.

Jojo simply sat there for precisely ten minutes, trying to force his mind to come to reality and out of the odd daze it had been in for the past few hours. He did come to a theory, however, that it was most likely one of his sisters that had dove into the kitchen at such an early hour. If he were right, his father had just slept right through it, like he always would have. He knew that Ned could have slept like a rock if he wanted to, even through wind and rain. For that, he was rather jealous. Jojo would have particularly enjoyed a decent night's sleep tonight. Instead, he spent most of it moaning in bed with displeasure.

In the end, he had to force himself to get out off the bed, knowing that it was far too late to even attempt to sleep again. It would be worthless, and, so, a tired Jojo made his way out of his room. His posture was slouched as always, and his eyes were barely open. He wondered what one of his sisters could have possibly been doing to cause so much noise in the middle of the night, and, first of all – why _would _they be up so late, and so determined to do whatever they were doing? The question puzzled him. His head and body swooned in harmony, and he had to hold his head with one of his hands to keep it from swaying. With the same hand, he ran his fingers through his bed-head hair. He did not much care for what he looked like at such an early morning. Still, it was due to this lack of enthusiasm, that he determined he might not go to the observatory today, but instead just crash in his own bed.

On this one thought, he had already reached the kitchen. He had not quite paid much attention to his surroundings; half way due to him drowning in his own thoughts, as well as the obvious lack-of-sleep factor. Still, he figured the best place to go was the kitchen, and simply wait there until his mother was done with her cooking and he could go ahead and have breakfast, or at least get something to drink. His throat was particularly dry this morning. He felt in the mood for some simple water, this morning. That was all – nothing special in particular that he thrived for, just water.

But it would not be the water that he saw first, or even the refrigerator. No, not quite…

The first thing he saw was a small Who-girl curled up by the counter. She was splattered with flour on her face, as well as a few dots of icing on her face. Her eyes were shut, and the pink strands of hair brushed along her cheeks. In one of her hands was a mixing spoon, with splotches of pink and white upon it. Upon closer attention, Jojo realized instantly that it was Melody, the newest addition to their 'little' family. He found all this odd, but he strolled over to her, close enough so he could make out her shallow breathing in her sleep. Still, she seemed so peaceful, but a question throbbed in Jojo's mind. What could she have possibly been making so late at night? The answer sat on the counter, sitting with such perfection. It was decorated in pink frosting, though, it was clearly composed of chocolate. Upon closer examination, Jojo realized the motivation behind Melody's action.

There sat a cupcake, and sprawled in clumsy white frosting was written, 'Thank you, Jojo'.

And a shadow of a smile crawled on his lips. He glanced to her. He saw the image of the rest of his little sisters in his head, and he could not help but laugh lightly. She leaned down toward her, and hauled her onto his back, careful not to awake her. With this, he strolled away from the kitchen in order to take his little sister back to her own room.

--

**And there it is! I hope you enjoyed it. Look forward to new chapters coming up soon! 8D As always, please review!**


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